Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has heaped praises on England international Romeo Lavia after the midfielder impressed in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Everton.
The manager named the 21-year-old on the bench for last Sunday’s last-gasp 2-1 win over Fulham, and he made his first start in just over three months when he started the win over the Toffees.
The former Southampton midfielder has made just 14 appearances in all competitions, including 12 in the league. Following his superb showing on Saturday, Maresca referred to him as ‘one of the best’ in the game.
“When he’s fit, he’s one of the best midfielders. He can defend very well, he can pass through the lines very well. He’s very good and hopefully we can have him fit until the end of the season.
I spent one entire season with Romeo with [Man City] U23s. He is like Reece [James], he’s a top player, but unfortunately we need to manage and protect them. But with both of them, it’s better”, the Italian said.
The win was the Blues second straight win after last week’s win at Craven Cottage, as they kept pace with other clubs amid the battle for UCL football.
Nicolas Jackson scored the game’s lone goal with a brilliant effort from outside the box after Enzo Fernandez played him through, and Maresca also heaped praise on the young striker.
“We said many times we don’t have any doubt about players who have struggled at times, like Nicolas Jackson, Cole Palmer and Robert Sanchez. It’s when we have to support them even more”, Maresca added.
“Hopefully Cole will score soon but his performance today was very good, he sacrificed a lot, he was pressing very well.”
Chelsea will now turn their attention to Thursday’s crucial clash against Swedish side Djurgarden in the UEFA Conference League semifinals, before returning to the Premier League on Sunday as they host Liverpool.
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