Romeo Lavia finished 90 minutes for Chelsea in the game against AC Milan because of a deliberate decision from Xabi Alonso.
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Chelsea's preseason is over, and it's now just a matter of days until their first Premier League game.
But there are still interesting stories coming back from the tour, and one of them is about Romeo Lavia. His most significant moment on tour was completing 90 minutes in a game. He's not done it in a competitive game in three years at the club, and the last time he did it even in a friendly was two years ago.
Romeo Lavia (Photo by Peksi Cahyo/Getty Images)
According to Kieran Gill of the Daily Mail , Xabi Alonso caught wind of a complex developing, and decided to squash it with some decisive management:
"Alonso spoke with Lavia about his hellish injury record and learned he had a mental block about completing a match. The Chelsea manager's response was to start him against AC Milan in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta and leave him on," Gill writes.
"Another coach might have substituted him. But Alonso decided the 90 would be more beneficial and that he would actually appreciate his legs feeling like jelly come full-time. Lavia did, and his team-mates celebrated with their exhausted comrade. A dozen boxes from the nearby Pizza Marzano were delivered to Chelsea's dressing room."
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