Owen Hargreaves says Romeo Lavia is one of the best he’s ever seen at one thing during Chelsea vs Bournemouth, he was soon proven wrong

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Chelsea will have been delighted to start with what many would consider to be their strongest midfield yesterday against Bournemouth.

Moises Caicedo made the switch to right-back whilst Romeo Lavia made his first league start in over a month alongside Enzo Fernandez in the middle of the park.

This combination has worked extremely well in the past. The dominant win over Aston Villa was a showcase of a ceiling those three players have.

Owen Hargreaves says Romeo Lavia is one of best under pressure he has ever seen during Chelsea vs Bournemouth

Plenty of people believe that Chelsea have severely missed the young Belgian since his last appearance against Tottenham, with their form and results falling off a cliff in that time.

Unfortunately, Enzo Maresca’s side were unable to put an end to that dire run, and relied on a last-minute Reece James free-kick to rescue them a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge.

Lavia was one of the Chelsea players who had enjoyed an excellent 45 minutes in the first half, with Owen Hargreaves quick to wax lyrical over him on commentary.

He said to TNT Sports: “Lavia is so good on the ball. He might be one of the most press-resistant players I’ve seen.”

However, it didn’t take long for the former Manchester United midfielder to be proven wrong, and Chelsea to let their opponents back into the game.

Romeo Lavia mistake costs Chelsea goal vs Bournemouth

Lavia was caught on the ball in the middle of the pitch and Bournemouth broke quickly, eventually seeing Moises Caicedo give away a penalty.

This was pretty much the youngster’s final involvement in proceedings, with the club captain coming on to replace him.

James was full of praise for Lavia after the game despite his mistake, and Chelsea are certainly benefiting from his return from injury.

He said: “Lavia is an amazing player. He’s had some injury problems as well. Whenever he’s playing with us, he helps us excel in the way we want to play.”

However, it was perhaps a reminder that no one in this young and inexperienced team is the finished article, and they were going to continue to learn on the job.