Romeo Lavia is the missing piece for Chelsea, his stats vs Man United are seriously impressive

Lavia delivered a dominant midfield display in Chelsea's 2-0 win over 10-man Manchester United, with five tackles, 14 recoveries and four interceptions.

Romeo Lavia put in an exceptional performance as Chelsea beat Manchester United 2-0 at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, with goals from Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer securing three points. The Belgian midfielder, who had struggled for playing time behind Jordan Henderson, earned his chance when Henderson was ruled out through illness and made the most of it.

Lavia was outstanding defensively, leading the pitch with five tackles and 14 recoveries while adding four interceptions. He also created two chances and completed 90 per cent of his passes, 11 of which broke lines. His work in midfield set up Rogers for the opening goal, and he was involved in Chelsea's third before it was ruled out by VAR. Against Manchester United's midfield pairing of Carlos Baleba and Andrey Santos, Lavia looked a class above, winning seven of his nine duels.

The 22-year-old's performance comes after a difficult period battling injuries. Before this season, he had made just 43 appearances in three years at Chelsea, but has now found consistency and described himself as experiencing a "rebirth" both physically and mentally.