Latest news with #RoméoLavia
The Guardian
10-05-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Newcastle v Chelsea: crucial questions in too-close-to-call race for Champions League
Newcastle: If recent form seems encouraging – Newcastle are seeking an eighth victory in 10 league games – they will miss the combative presence of the injured Joelinton on the left of Eddie Howe's midfield three. Joe Willock has not convinced entirely in that role since the Brazilian damaged a knee and much the same could be said of Alexander Isak. On his day the Sweden striker is unplayable but since Newcastle's Carabao Cup triumph Isak has often been a shadow of his best self. Is it the minor groin injury he is carrying, or even a desire to move on to pastures new this summer? Given the importance of Kieran Trippier and Fabian Schär, Howe will be keeping everything crossed that those two key defenders pass late fitness tests. LT Chelsea: It feels like the atmosphere around the club completely changed when late goals from Tyrique George and Pedro Neto enabled them to fight back from 1-0 down to beat Fulham last month. A first away win since December eased the pressure on Enzo Maresca, generating momentum at a vital point. Strong at home, Chelsea followed up the heist at Fulham with a gritty victory over Everton at Stamford Bridge, then took advantage of a drop in Liverpool's standards by beating the newly crowned champions last week. It has been an impressive revival after a worrying few months. Chelsea look hungry. Nicolas Jackson has rediscovered his scoring touch and the return of Roméo Lavia in midfield has made a huge difference. Chelsea are a different team when Lavia is fit. There is still much to prove, though. Can this young side hold their nerve against direct competitors for a top-five spot? Chelsea have lost their past three games at St James' Park. JS Newcastle: Although Newcastle are not in peril of breaching profitability and sustainability regulations (PSR) rules, a place in one of Europe's lesser competitions would probably restrict their maximum summer spending to about £75m before any sales. Champions League involvement should virtually double that budget. Several of the club's commercial deals, the Adidas kit sponsorship included, rise appreciably in value if a top-five finish is secured. Europa or Conference League involvement would also increase the probability of Howe losing at least one leading player and quite possibly unsettle his star striker, Isak. Conversely, rubbing shoulders with Europe's elite would enable Newcastle to keep not only Isak but Bruno Guimarães too. It would also make it easier to acquire a number of high-profile targets, including Brentford's Bryan Mbeumo, Crystal Palace's Marc Guéhi, Burnley's James Trafford, Ipswich's Liam Delap and RB Leipzig's Benjamin Sesko. Finishing sixth or seventh would mean Howe had failed to trigger a contractual £3m Champions League bonus clause that would boost his salary to around £9m per year. LT Chelsea: The club have not qualified since being bought by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital in 2022. Spending two seasons in the wilderness has not done wonders for their finances. Complying with the Premier League's PSR has required some clever accountancy, so it would help Chelsea if they returned to a competition they won in 2012 and 2021. Maresca has admitted that failing to qualify would have an impact on his transfer budget, although it should not be forgotten that Chelsea are in line for a handsome payout from their participation in this summer's expanded Club World Cup. They believe they are going in the right direction. Maresca is an inexperienced coach and has struggled at times during his first season in charge but the club want to persist with the Italian. Supporters may not be as forgiving as the board if Chelsea miss out. JS Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion Newcastle: Joelinton's absence dictates that Willock has big midfield boots to fill. Isak could do with winning his attacking beauty contest with Chelsea's Cole Palmer. Sandro Tonali needs to emphasise why he ranks among Europe's finest in the No 6 position and the inconsistent Guimarães must rediscover his A game. Although Jacob Murphy and Harvey Barnes have impressed of late, this might be the moment for Anthony Gordon to start his first game since March. Howe rarely deviates from 4-3-3 but is this the time to surprise Chelsea with a tactical revamp? With the influential defender Sven Botman fully fit again, a switch to a back three or 4-2-3-1 are options. Should Maresca persist with his risky habit of playing out from the back, Howe's hard, high, 4-3-3 pressing machine could steamroller Chelsea. With a tricky trip to Arsenal next Sunday, Newcastle will not settle for a draw. LT Chelsea: Nothing fancy here – you can't look past Palmer. The 23-year-old makes Chelsea tick and his mojo was back against Liverpool. A late penalty ended an 18-match goal drought and there was encouragement from a performance full of Palmer's trademark creative genius. Not that Chelsea are a one-man team. Moisés Caicedo was named the club's player of the year last week. The midfielder has continued to excel since being deployed as an auxiliary right-back. The ploy has allowed Maresca to put Lavia next to Enzo Fernández, who has been in fine goalscoring form. Jackson's return from a hamstring injury has also sharpened the attack. As for the defence, Levi Colwill and Trevoh Chalobah will have to be at their best against Isak. JS
Times
09-05-2025
- Sport
- Times
Romeo Lavia's form pushes Chelsea's player of season into right-back role
If outlay is anything to go by, then Chelsea certainly know the value of building a strong midfield core. Yet for Enzo Maresca, knitting all his expensive components together, while also fitting them into his tactical system, has not felt particularly straightforward this season. It has been one of the big conundrums of the campaign. In late October the Italian coach dropped the £106.8million recruit Enzo Fernández, stating that he needed the 'physicality' of Moisés Caicedo (£115million) and Roméo Lavia (£58million). Lavia then struggled to hold down a place in the team, victim to recurrent hamstring issues that have left him with only ten starts. The form of Cole Palmer, meanwhile, has flourished and then fallen away with the ups and downs of the midfield
The Guardian
09-05-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Roméo Lavia is the ideal cog in Enzo Maresca's machine – when he is fit
'When he is fit, he is one of the best midfielders,' enthused Enzo Maresca after Chelsea's 1-0 win over Everton a few weeks ago. His team had laboured to a narrow home win but the manager was full of praise for his young midfielder. Chelsea have paid huge transfer fees for midfielders in recent years, breaking the British transfer record to sign Enzo Fernández from Benfica for £107m and then upping the record to bring in Moisés Caicedo from Brighton, but Maresca knows his team is at its best when Roméo Lavia is available. Fernández and Caicedo have performed superbly in recent weeks as Chelsea have chased down a place in the Champions League. The Ecuadorian has done particularly well at right-back, having been moved out of midfield to accommodate Lavia in the starting XI. Caicedo has dropped into defence and operated as an inverted right-back, doing so to a better standard than both Reece James and Malo Gusto. Given his hefty transfer fee and ability to win back the ball in the centre of the park, Caicedo probably expected to be one of the first names on the team sheet, but his new position in the team shows just how valuable Lavia is to Chelsea. Maresca has picked the former Southampton man alongside Fernández at the base of his 4-2-3-1 formation because he gives the team greater balance. Lavia has the best pass success rate in the Chelsea squad (91.8%) this season in the league. He completed 100% of his passes against Liverpool at the weekend – as he had done against Tottenham last month (before he was forced off with an injury). The 21-year-old really caught the eye in the 3-1 victory against Liverpool. Having already clinched the title, there was not much at stake for Arne Slot's men at Stamford Bridge but, even so, Lavia gave a performance that warranted adulation. To not misplace any of his 23 passes against the best side in the land is a tremendous feat. Cole Palmer made most of the headlines by scoring his first goal in 18 games but Lavia was the player who dictated the tempo for Chelsea. Chelsea fans must be delighted by his form given he had such an arduous start at the club. The Belgium international was restricted to just 32 minutes of league action in his debut campaign for the club as an ankle problem followed by a hamstring injury denied him the chance to consolidate a starting spot under Mauricio Pochettino. Lavia clearly has the faith of Maresca, who threw him into action on the first day of the season against Manchester City. Further hamstring complaints meant he didn't start another game until the 2-1 defeat at Liverpool in October, two months after his full Chelsea debut, but Maresca clearly wants to pick the midfielder as soon as he is given the green light to do so. Maresca's side can get by fine without Lavia but they are a far stronger side when he plays. Not only is Lavia a tidy performer in possession, but his press resistance and close control make him the ideal player to receive the ball from defence and start attacks. He gives away possession as a result of an unsuccessful touch just 0.1 times per 90 minutes; to put that in context, Caicedo does it one time per 90 and Fernández 0.9 times per 90. Rifle the ball into Lavia and he will control with ease – a skill that means Chelsea can build from the back without fear of being caught short in defence. For a Chelsea side that ranks third for possession (57.6%) in the league this season, Lavia is the ideal cog in Maresca's machine. Yet, the 'when he is fit' line from Maresca after the Everton game is telling. Lavia's start against Liverpool was just his 10th in nearly two years at the club. He has not yet completed a full match in a Chelsea shirt and was left out of their Conference League squad due to fitness issues. When his teammates line up to face Real Betis in the final of the competition in Wroclaw later this month, he will be watching from the stands because his manager could not trust him to be fit. The pros outweigh the cons for Maresca, though. Lavia has proven instrumental in his sporadic outings, none more so than against Liverpool. His availability could be the key to Chelsea securing a top-five finish this season. This is an article by WhoScored
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Maresca sees how important Roméo Lavia is for Chelsea
Maresca sees how important Roméo Lavia is for Chelsea Enzo Maresca addressed Roméo Lavia who got a standing ovation from Chelsea fans following the 3-1 victory over Liverpool in the Premier League.
The Guardian
05-05-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Chelsea humble the champions in hunt for Europe
Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email. On the podcast today; Chelsea inflict a third defeat of the season on Liverpool to help them in the race for fifth place, Cole Palmer returning to form and Roméo Lavia back in the centre might just be enough to get them over the line. Elsewhere, Arsenal field a strong side and lose to Bournemouth, a call they'll live to regret? Manchester United and Spurs opt to heavily rotate in their games against Brentford and West Ham respectively before Europa League games on Thursday night. Plus, the rest of the Premier League, final day across the EFL and your questions answered. Support the Guardian here. You can also find Football Weekly on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
