What Romeo Lavia said after Enzo Maresca defeats against Celtic

 After missing a large chunk of last season due to injury, Romeo Lavia has been like a new signing for Chelsea

Roméo Lavia takes the ball during a pre-season club friendly football match between Chelsea FC and Celtic FC at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana, on July 27, 2024

Romeo Lavia in action against Celtic

Romeo Lavia has broken his silence following Chelsea's disappointing defeat to Celtic. The Scottish Premiership champions stormed past Enzo Maresca's side at the Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday night, extending the Blues' winless streak in pre-season.

The 20-year-old midfielder has started each of Chelsea's friendlies in the United States this summer. Despite his spritely performances, Lavia has not yet led the west Londoners to glory, drawing 2-2 with Wrexham and losing 4-1 to Celtic.

He enjoyed a first-half cameo against the League One outfit before playing his first 60 minutes against Brendan Rodgers' side in over a year. Last season, Lavia missed a large chunk of the campaign due to injury, featuring just once for Chelsea in the Premier League.

After the Celtic clash, the former Southampton ace marked the milestone with a celebratory post on his Instagram story. Lavia uploaded a picture of his shirt in the dressing room with the caption: "Another step [praying hands emoji] on to the next one [railway emoji]."

Speaking to reporters following Chelsea's draw with Wrexham last week, Maresca provided an update on Wesley Fofana and Lavia. The Blues boss said: "They are both very important. It is important to get minutes, to use every training session.

"After a year without getting minutes, it is difficult mentally. They need a boost, energy – and 45 minutes is going to help both of them. The result for us is always important but, in this moment, also we need to judge different things."

Then, following the Celtic meeting, Maresca was asked if he's confident there's enough time to get his ideas across before the Premier League kicks off. The Italian said: "We are, for sure, going to be ready for that game or at least we are going to improve things for that game.

"But I am not thinking for the first official game that everything is fine. It's a little bit difficult. The result is always important but in this moment we need to judge and analyse different things. On the ball we created chances, off the ball we probably conceded too much and that is something we need to improve."