Chelsea fans were greeted with a welcome sight when they saw their side pick up a narrow 1-0 win over Everton in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge.
Romeo Lavia was named in the starting side for the first time in over three months as the Blues continued to push towards securing Champions League football next season.
The midfielder impressed greatly before being replaced around the hour mark, after starting alongside Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo inverting from right-back.
Chelsea fans gave Lavia a standing ovation for his performance, with those very fans praying that this won’t be a rare occurance that they get to see him on the pitch.
The Belgian was replaced by Reece James, who started his second Premier League game in a row on the bench as Enzo Maresca continues to ease him back into action.
Romeo Lavia’s Chelsea return bad news for Reece James
However, many would suggest that the best possible side when all are fit would include Fernandez, Caicedo and Lavia.
With the boss finding a solution to this by putting the Ecuador international on the right of defence, this could present a problem for both James and Malo Gusto as they look to nail down minutes at a key point of the season.
The club captain has seen minutes come his way in a midfield position in recent weeks, with the boss keen to make sure he remains fit and available for him.
England manager Thomas Tuchel still believes right-back is his best role, and looks as if he is going to continue playing him there for the national side.
Despite not starting him for the crucial game against Everton, it seems that Maresca is still a big fan of James and the impact he can have on the side.
He said: “For us it’s like Reece, they are both top players. The only shame for us is that unfortunately we need to manage them. We need to protect them, but there’s no doubt that Chelsea with Reece and Romeo is a better team.”
With the Conference League semi-final first leg coming up on Thursday, it will be interesting to see if James leads the side out in Sweden for the crucial European game.
If he does, it can be believed that he is going to have to wait to feature from the bench in Premier League games, starting with hosting the champions Liverpool on Sunday.
