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5 days ago
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“When helium is fit, helium is 1 of the champion midfielders,” enthused Enzo Maresca aft Chelsea’s 1-0 triumph implicit Everton a fewer weeks ago. His squad had laboured to a constrictive location triumph but the manager was afloat of praise for his young midfielder. Chelsea person paid immense transportation fees for midfielders successful caller years, breaking the British transportation grounds to motion Enzo Fernández from Benfica for £107m and past upping the grounds to bring successful Moisés Caicedo from Brighton, but Maresca knows his squad is astatine its champion erstwhile Roméo Lavia is available.
Fernández and Caicedo person performed superbly successful caller weeks arsenic Chelsea person chased down a spot successful the Champions League. The Ecuadorian has done peculiarly good astatine right-back, having been moved retired of midfield to accommodate Lavia successful the starting XI. Caicedo has dropped into defence and operated arsenic an inverted right-back, doing truthful to a amended modular than some Reece James and Malo Gusto.
Given his hefty transportation interest and quality to triumph backmost the shot successful the centre of the park, Caicedo astir apt expected to beryllium 1 of the archetypal names connected the squad sheet, but his caller presumption successful the squad shows conscionable however invaluable Lavia is to Chelsea. Maresca has picked the erstwhile Southampton antheral alongside Fernández astatine the basal of his 4-2-3-1 enactment due to the fact that helium gives the squad greater balance.
Lavia has the champion walk occurrence complaint successful the Chelsea squad (91.8%) this play successful the league. He completed 100% of his passes against Liverpool astatine the play – arsenic helium had done against Tottenham past period (before helium was forced disconnected with an injury). The 21-year-old truly caught the oculus successful the 3-1 triumph against Liverpool.
Having already clinched the title, determination was not overmuch astatine involvement for Arne Slot’s men astatine Stamford Bridge but, adjacent so, Lavia gave a show that warranted adulation. To not misplace immoderate of his 23 passes against the champion broadside successful the onshore is simply a tremendous feat. Cole Palmer made astir of the headlines by scoring his archetypal extremity successful 18 games but Lavia was the subordinate who dictated the tempo for Chelsea.
Chelsea fans indispensable beryllium delighted by his signifier fixed helium had specified an arduous commencement astatine the club. The Belgium planetary was restricted to conscionable 32 minutes of league enactment successful his debut run for the nine arsenic an ankle occupation followed by a hamstring wounded denied him the accidental to consolidate a starting spot nether Mauricio Pochettino.
Lavia intelligibly has the religion of Maresca, who threw him into enactment connected the archetypal time of the play against Manchester City. Further hamstring complaints meant helium didn’t commencement different crippled until the 2-1 decision astatine Liverpool successful October, 2 months aft his afloat Chelsea debut, but Maresca intelligibly wants to prime the midfielder arsenic soon arsenic helium is fixed the greenish airy to bash so. Maresca’s broadside tin get by good without Lavia but they are a acold stronger broadside erstwhile helium plays.
Not lone is Lavia a tidy performer successful possession, but his property absorption and adjacent power marque him the perfect subordinate to person the shot from defence and commencement attacks. He gives distant possession arsenic a effect of an unsuccessful interaction conscionable 0.1 times per 90 minutes; to enactment that successful context, Caicedo does it 1 clip per 90 and Fernández 0.9 times per 90. Rifle the shot into Lavia and helium volition power with easiness – a accomplishment that means Chelsea tin physique from the backmost without fearfulness of being caught abbreviated successful defence. For a Chelsea broadside that ranks 3rd for possession (57.6%) successful the league this season, Lavia is the perfect cog successful Maresca’s machine.
Yet, the “when helium is fit” enactment from Maresca aft the Everton crippled is telling. Lavia’s commencement against Liverpool was conscionable his 10th successful astir 2 years astatine the club. He has not yet completed a afloat lucifer successful a Chelsea garment and was near retired of their Conference League squad owed to fittingness issues. When his teammates enactment up to look Real Betis successful the last of the contention successful Wroclaw aboriginal this month, helium volition beryllium watching from the stands due to the fact that his manager could not spot him to beryllium fit.
The pros outweigh the cons for Maresca, though. Lavia has proven instrumental successful his sporadic outings, nary much truthful than against Liverpool. His availability could beryllium the cardinal to Chelsea securing a top-five decorativeness this season.
This is an nonfiction by WhoScored
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