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Romeo Lavia is the missing piece for Chelsea, his stats vs Man United are seriously impressive
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- Romeo Lavia is the missing piece for Chelsea, his stats vs Man United are seriously impressive
Romeo Lavia was exceptional as Chelsea beat 10-man Manchester United 2-0 at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Goals from Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer were enough to secure an important three points for the home side.
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The Blues were beaten by Tottenham last week and were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Liverpool in mid-week, with pressure mounting on Xabi Alonso.
Lavia had enjoyed a superb start to the season under the Spaniard, but suddenly found himself struggling to win his spot back amid the form of Jordan Henderson.
But the midfielder was superb against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday and earned his chance on Saturday when Henderson was ruled out through illness.
With Alonso rewarded with a spectacular display from the Belgian, he is unlikely to leave the position again anytime soon.
Romeo Lavia dominates vs Man United
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Up against the duo of Carlos Baleba and Andrey Santos in midfield for Man United, Lavia looked levels above.
After several injury-hit years, it is easy to forget how talented the Belgium international was when he broke through at Southampton.
But the 22-year-old looked every bit a £58million player on Saturday, dominating from start to finish.
It was Lavia's good work in midfield that saw him hand the ball to Rogers for the opener, and his interception was involved in Chelsea's third before it was chalked off by VAR.
The midfielder created two chances, completed 90 per cent of his passes, 11 of which broke lines. But his performance was all about the defensive side of the game.
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Lavia drew two fouls and won seven of his nine duels, seemingly able to come out on top in every exchange.
He led every player on the pitch in tackles and recoveries, making five and 14, respectively. He added four interceptions, too.
Talent has been promised of Lavia for several years, and the future will be incredibly bright if he can avoid more injuries.
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Before this season, Lavia had remarkably made just 43 appearances in three years at Chelsea.
The midfielder's injury issues were relentless, and there was serious concern that he would never be able to consistently feature.
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But this season has been massively encouraging, and Lavia could not be happier.
"It's been a very long time since I've felt this good, physically and mentally," he said at the start of October. "I'm delighted. There's a lot of hard work behind it. It's a rebirth."
