Lavia hails 'statement' Chelsea 2-0 win over Man Utd

Romeo Lavia says Chelsea's 2-0 victory over Manchester United at Stamford Bridge laid down a marker for what the Blues can achieve this season. The Belgian midfielder played an important part in the opening goal shortly after half-time.

Lavia halted a United attack with a crucial tackle and quickly sent the loose ball to Morgan Rogers. Rogers powered forward through the defence and lifted a composed finish over the keeper. Cole Palmer added a second from the penalty spot.

For Lavia, the performance further underlined his growing momentum in the Chelsea midfield as he continues to put a difficult injury period behind him. 'I like to say that my job is to make the job for the other players in front of me easier, and everyone around me,' Lavia reflected. 'So I'm happy I've been able to do that and help the team to get a good win.'

'I feel very comfortable. Like I've always said, it's been in the weeks a lot of work that goes unseen with everyone in the building, at the training ground. So I'm very happy that it's all paying off and hopefully it just continues this way.'

The win returned Chelsea to the top four, where they sit with 16 points from nine Premier League games. It also helped them bounce back from last week's loss to Tottenham Hotspur and a midweek Carabao Cup penalty exit at Liverpool.

'It was a very important game and important win,' Lavia continued. 'I think the team effort was amazing. Everyone, from the players who started to the players who came on, was engaged and I think that's a good statement for what's ahead.'

'It was quite obvious that the chances that they had in the first half were coming from our mistakes, sometimes rushing things a little bit when we had the control. So the message was just to rectify that little detail in the second half and for the rest not to change anything. I think we did that and we got the clean sheet as well, so it's a very good win.'

'We're very happy with the win, but we're not overthinking things. We are very focused and we know that it's a process. It's a good day, but a performance like this is a good statement of what we're capable of delivering.'

Lavia completed his second full 90 minutes in four days, and Chelsea have won three of their last four Premier League games. The team appears to be hitting its stride just as the busy winter period approaches.