What Romeo Lavia did in secret against Liverpool as Chelsea and Cole Palmer plan finally pays off

Romeo Lavia helped Chelsea to beat Liverpool (Image: Marc Atkins/Getty Images)

It is no exaggeration to say that Chelsea's hopes for the end of the season rely on Romeo Lavia staying fit. His return to the side has coincided with two massive wins and the manner of performances has raised optimism ahead of the final three Premier League matches.

It is telling that of the 10 games he has started this season, Chelsea have only lost two. Although they have also only won five of those, the two defeats were against Manchester City on the opening day and Liverpool one month later.

After the 2-1 defeat loss at Anfield, Arne Slot said: "It was one of the games, maybe the only game, where I felt the other team was better than us. That's not to say for the long term they are better than us but during the game they had more ball possession than us and were threatening us more than any other team until now.

"I'm not there to judge which position they will end in the league table. I have to focus on my own team but Chelsea have been impressive this season so far, that's for sure."

Lavia started that game and impressed in midfield against the team that he so easily could have joined in the summer of 2023. Instead, Chelsea director Joe Shields - who worked with Lavia at City - used his relationship to help push through a deal which could go on to be worth £58million. Shields notably posted a picture of Lavia on Instagram after this Sunday's even more exceptional display.

In the eight matches he has started for Chelsea since October 20, there have been no defeats. Included in there are wins over Newcastle United, Aston Villa, and Tottenham as well as a draw with Arsenal. The moment Lavia hit a hamstring problem in early December was almost exactly when the winter of discontent at SW6 started.

By the time Liverpool rocked up at Stamford Bridge in the reverse fixture this weekend they had grown a 22-point gap to Chelsea. The title was over and Chelsea's unlikely challenge ended before it had really started.

“I expected them to be a threat this season, because they were at Anfield, they were better than us, they were so close to us, so it was a complete surprise to me that we are now 19 points clear of them," Slot said afterwards. “I didn't feel that at all coming when we played them."

Again, it is a correlation rather than a direct and sole causation that Lavia was missing in the middle, but it is significant. Enzo Maresca said as much himself.

"You can see that we are a better team with Romeo," he admitted. "Unfortunately, he has been injured for most of the season. Probably in this moment he has been the difference between us and many clubs because we had many important players for us that have been injured. Romeo is one of them. Wes Fofana is another one.

"We had Nico [Jackson] for two months [out]. Romeo showed again today how important he is for the team and how good he is."

Although Maresca always downplayed Chelsea's chances of winning the league, he did hint at their chances of competing being improved with Lavia. "I really think that Liverpool deserve to win the Premier [League]," he added.

"First of all because they have been consistent. Second of all because they had consistently the [whole] squad available, something that unfortunately the rest [of the teams] have not."

Now Chelsea do have Lavia back they look like a different side. The complexion of Maresca's selections have told the same story. To accommodate for Lavia but also keep the hub of the team's passing and defensive masters settled, Moises Caicedo is moved to right-back when Chelsea don't have the ball. Enzo Fernandez continues to roam, sometimes dropping to help out in the buildup but more often than not crashing the box to score or assist.

With Lavia behind him, Fernandez has more freedom to advance because there is extra cover as well as progressive expertise. When Reece James is deployed in midfield he is less able to get Chelsea forward. Lavia, as a natural in the pivot, is much more at ease receiving with his back to the press, turning into but usually then out of danger before breaking the lines.

Romeo Lavia celebrates (Image: Ed Sykes/Sportsphoto/Allstar)

James does have his qualities, even in midfield, but is not as useful as Lavia. At this stage of the season, it is no time for sentiment of favourites. The game is now about results and Lavia is the most effective in this position. It means dropping James to the bench but that is a small price to pay for what Lavia can offer.

If Chelsea are to keep Lavia fit then their chances of finishing the season strongly increase dramatically . They will need to win the midfield battle at Newcastle on Sunday in a way they have regularly failed to in recent years. They will also need to be robust at Nottingham Forest on the final day. There should be no problem cutting through Manchester United but making it happen is another thing entirely.

It has been a case of multiple false dawn's with Lavia until now. He has come back into the team before dipping out with injuries keeping him sidelined for months at a time. He didn't let it effect him on Sunday even when Liverpool supporters were chanting 'you could have won the league' and 'you could have signed for the champions.'

He was booed off by the away contingent and kept his head down when walking past that section of the Shed End but was smiling away as he did, not that they could see. Lavia looked up when level with the Chelsea-filled East Stand and immediately started clapped the adoring home fans, grinning away as he did so, completely in the knowledge of the abuse he was getting from behind.

It is this carefree attitude that will endear Lavia to Chelsea even more. Lavia playing has also aided Cole Palmer's timely return to form , which is just as important. The attacker was at his best once more against Liverpool after spending four months looking totally out of sorts.

To say this is at all down to Lavia - let alone entirely - would be wrong. However, the pair have a relationship from their time in the City academy (under Maresca) and have shown signs of that understanding already.

Lavia constantly looks to find Palmer when he is between the lines and that not only creates a threat when the ball ends up in his possession but simply the idea of Palmer facing forward on the ball is enough to attract opposition defenders. This, in turn, exposes space for others to exploit.

The opening goal against Liverpool is proof of this as Curtis Jones follows Palmer, fully aware that Lavia is able to pick a pass through the attackers. As Palmer drags Jones one way he then spins into a gap created by his own movement. Lavia is aware and finds Palmer's feet. Within 10 seconds Chelsea have scored.

Maresca will need more of this in the last month. Without Lavia, nobody else can supply the team's talisman in the same way.