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Cole Palmer and Romeo Lavia both starred in Chelsea’s 2-0 victory over Manchester United on Saturday.
Palmer scored Chelsea’s second goal of the game to ensure all three points for Xabi Alonso’s side, while Lavia was involved in the opener, although Morgan Rogers did most of the work. After losing to Tottenham Hotspur last weekend and being eliminated from the Carabao Cup midweek, the pressure was on Palmer, Lavia and the rest of the Chelsea team.
However, after a lacklustre first half, they managed to respond. Lavia, in particular, had a solid game, which did not go unnoticed.
Palmer was clearly impressed with his teammate’s performance. That was evident to see at the end of the game.
After the full-time whistle, Daily Mail journalist Kieran Gill saw the attacking midfielder jog straight to Lavia to congratulate him. Lavia finishing the match was an accomplishment in itself.
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Since arriving at Chelsea from Southampton in 2023, the 22-year-old had a series of injury problems. However, following his appearances against United and Liverpool, he has now played 90 minutes in back-to-back games.
As for Palmer, that was definitely one of his better games of late. After getting sent off against Spurs last Saturday, the England international has bounced back with a goal and good performance.
Palmer and Lavia are next in action on Sunday 8 November when Chelsea travel to the Stadium of Light to face Sunderland. They lost 2-1 there at the end of last season so will be looking for payback.
Lavia’s stats against United show just how good he was on the day. For example, the Belgian created one big chance and registered two key passes, according to Sofascore.
Lavia also completed 64 of the 71 passes he attempted, giving him a pass success rate of 90%. The former Southampton man did a lot defensively as well.
In total, Lavia made nine defensive contributions. He won four out of five tackles and made four interceptions. No player made more defensive actions than the Belgium international.
All in all, Lavia put in the complete midfield performance. Hopefully, he can now remain fit and we see more of the same going forward.