Romeo Lavia completed his first full 90 minutes for Chelsea as the Blues beat AC Milan 3-0 in Jakarta.
The midfielder has endured a difficult three years since joining from Southampton, but Saturday provided an important fitness milestone as he played the entire game alongside Moisés Caicedo.
Romeo Lavia Chelsea milestone finally arrives
Lavia joined Chelsea in August 2023 for an initial £53million, with the deal potentially rising to £58million, but injuries have repeatedly interrupted his time at Stamford Bridge.
As recently as February, BBC Sport reported that Lavia had still never completed a full 90 minutes for Chelsea after making 30 appearances and missing 98 matches across 603 days.
That wait is now over.
Lavia started alongside Caicedo against Milan and remained on the pitch until the final whistle, despite Xabi Alonso making six substitutions during the second half.
Chelsea’s official match report confirms Lavia was the only starting outfield player not replaced as the Blues secured their second victory of pre-season.
He also contributed directly to the third goal.
Lavia played the corner towards the edge of the penalty area before Caicedo produced an excellent outside-of-the-boot volley to complete the scoring.
Lavia gives Alonso another midfield option
The 22-year-old’s performance came during Chelsea’s most convincing display since Alonso took charge.
Lavia and Caicedo were given significant responsibility in midfield as Chelsea switched to a 3-4-2-1 formation, with the pair helping Alonso’s side control the game.
ReadChelsea’s match report highlighted Chelsea’s improved display against AC Milan as João Pedro scored twice before Caicedo added the third.
For Lavia, however, simply remaining on the pitch for the entire game represented an important step.
Chelsea have regularly managed his workload because of his injury record, meaning consistent availability will be more important than any individual pre-season performance.
Completing 90 minutes against Milan suggests progress is being made.
If Lavia can now stay fit, Alonso has another high-quality option to use alongside Caicedo when the competitive season begins.
