Chelsea Round-Up, Wednesday 4th November: Lavia the Toast of Stamford Bridge as Alonso Faces Estevao Headache
Romeo Lavia continues to be the big talking point around Cobham after his impressive display in the 2-0 win over Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, with Xabi Alonso said to have been hugely impressed by the midfielder's performance (Football.London). That showing has now been rewarded, with Lavia picking up the Premier League Player of the Matchweek award (ChelseaFC.com). The Sun have also delved into his background, with Lavia opening up on how a close-knit Congolese upbringing in Brussels helped shape him on his journey to becoming one of Chelsea's most exciting midfielders, while he also revealed that meeting fellow Belgian Eden Hazard gave him extra motivation to succeed at Stamford Bridge (The Sun) (ESPN).
Steven Gerrard was full of praise for Estevao after the win over United, with the pundit hailing the Brazilian's performance and suggesting he could become a real headache for Alonso in terms of team selection (Sports Mole). There's been plenty of debate over why the winger was given his first Premier League start of the season against United specifically, with reports suggesting Alonso felt United's perceived physical weakness made them the perfect opponents for Estevao to build up his own physicality (TeamTalk) (The Sun). Despite his lack of regular game time this season, talkSPORT understand Chelsea and Alonso remain delighted with Estevao and have no intention of letting him leave (talkSPORT). Elsewhere in that United win, Mike Penders was spotted using the so-called "vaseline trick" previously associated with England goalkeepers (The Sun), while football.london's eyes at Cobham training also picked out Estevao among a dozen stars involved as Alonso received a welcome boost on the fitness front (Football.London).
On the injury front, football.london report Alonso welcomed three players back into training on Wednesday afternoon, though there was a scare involving Moises Caicedo (Football.London). There's also a major update regarding Chelsea goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez following Argentina's squad announcement for the November international break (Sports Mole).
Cole Palmer has been at the centre of a refereeing row, with both the BBC and ESPN reporting that the Premier League's Key Match Incidents panel have ruled he should have been shown a straight red card for violent conduct following his clash with Mateus Fernandes during the defeat to Tottenham, with the panel suggesting the card should have come around ten minutes before the one he eventually received (ESPN) (BBC Sport). On a happier note for Palmer, We Ain't Got No History note that his penalty against Manchester United took him to 50 Premier League goals for Chelsea, making him the third fastest player to reach that milestone for the club (We Ain't Got No History). Sports Mole also spoke to in-form Morgan Rogers, who has been one of Chelsea's standout performers with six goals and four assists in 12 matches this season, and who has identified an area of his game he still wants to improve (Sports Mole).
It was a tough night in Europe for Chelsea's youngsters, as the Under-19s were knocked out of the UEFA Youth League by Estonian side Flora Tallinn, a side that reportedly featured a 14-year-old (BBC Sport). The Sun note that Ibrahim Rabbaj, dubbed the "Moroccan Messi", made an instant impact off the bench but couldn't prevent the result (The Sun). Away from Cobham, football.london report that winger Jesse Derry, on a season-long loan at Sporting CP, has been denied a return to Stamford Bridge and is yet to make much of an impact in Portugal (Football.London). There's better news out on loan elsewhere, with Sports Mole highlighting how young defender Genesis Antwi has earned his first senior Sweden call-up after a string of impressive performances on loan at Strasbourg (Sports Mole).
In the women's game, BBC Sport report that Ellie Carpenter has emerged as a surprise star for Chelsea this season following a strong start to the Women's Super League campaign (BBC Sport). Finally, Chelsea and Linglong Tire have announced the return of "The Famous CFC" brand activity to China (ChelseaFC.com).
This round-up is written with the help of AI, using only the day's headlines from the publishers credited above. Each point links to the original report — tap the source name to read it in full.
