Chelsea’s second game of their pre-season tour of the United States was one to forget for the Blues.
Chelsea lost 4-1 to Celtic, putting in a really worrying performance defensively. A couple of balls over the top, and Celtic’s attack often found themselves in on goal.
The Blues were not great in midfield either, even with Reece James inverting into the middle of the park to increase the numbers there.
The likes of Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez did not play. Instead, it was Romeo Lavia and Carney Chukwuemeka who started the game in midfield.
Chelsea fans liked what they saw from Lavia in the Blues’ first pre-season friendly against Wrexham. But they would not have been too impressed with his display versus Celtic on Saturday.
Romeo Lavia struggled against Celtic
Lavia is a strong midfielder who is not afraid to drive with the ball and showed that a couple of times in the Celtic defeat.
However, his passing was not up to scratch on the day, while Chelsea’s midfield in general failed to show any kind of authority in the middle of the park.
Of course, you cannot ignore the fact that Lavia barely kicked a ball last season. It is understandable that the 20-year-old looked a bit rusty at times.
But it still shows that he is probably not ready to start for Enzo Maresca‘s side when they welcome Manchester City to Stamford Bridge on August 18.
Romeo Lavia not ready to start Manchester City game
Lavia could become a key player for Chelsea. He is still young and someone who they obviously have a lot of faith in.
The Blues paid Southampton £58m for Lavia’s signature last summer, so this is clearly a young midfielder who they believe in.
It may be too soon, though, for Lavia to start such a huge match against City, where everyone is going to need to be at their best if Chelsea are to take anything away from it.
Lavia needs to prove he has his sharpness back again, otherwise the Belgium international should not be included in Chelsea’s starting XI for their first Premier League game of the season.
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