Romeo Lavia has struggled with injuries since joining Chelsea but he impressed in the 2-0 win over Manchester United

Romeo Lavia seized his chance to shine after Jordan Henderson's illness opened the door.

The Belgian midfielder has seen his chances to impress ravaged by injury since arriving at Stamford Bridge from Southampton in August 2023.

The 2-0 win over Manchester United on Saturday marked the first time he has completed back-to-back 90 minutes for the club. After playing the full game in Wednesday's Carabao Cup loss at Liverpool, the 22-year-old was not expecting to feature against United.

He said: “I only found out I was playing in the team meeting on Friday. You always have to be ready. Obviously, I was happy because it's a very big game, and I think it went well.

“As long as I feel good, I'll do everything possible to help the team get these types of results. I'm feeling good, so I'm very happy with my performance.”

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So he should have been. Lavia won back possession a game-high 14 times and provided the assist for Morgan Rogers' 50th-minute opener.

He also formed a formidable partnership with Moises Caicedo, with the pair starting together in midfield for the first time since May.

Lavia said: “Moi is an exceptional player. I really enjoy playing with him. Obviously, I've had these injuries and stuff, but I've been playing with Moi for three or four years. Of course, I know him and he knows me, so I'm very, very happy to be playing alongside him again.”

And Lavia is loving life behind Rogers and Cole Palmer, who netted Chelsea's second from the spot.

He added: “First of all, I would like to highlight that these two players have done an amazing job, not just on the ball but off it as well.

“That's very important because it helps the team a lot, probably more than they think, and more than people think, because they only see the offensive part of these players.

“Overall, they had a great performance. I'm very happy to have them in front of me because, with the quality they have, I know that at some point something will happen.”