Chelsea teammates Roméo Lavia and Maxence Lacroix faced off in Nations League action on Monday, an occasion perhaps most notable for it being Lavia’s first ever senior international start. It was the 22-year-old third ever appearance and second in just a few days — certainly a welcome development considering he had to wait over three years between appearances one and two. Lavia has struggled with injury throughout his Chelsea career, but he’s been staying (more) fit as of late so hopefully that continues.
Lavia would not complete the full-90, but he only missed the last five minutes of regulation. Unfortunately for Belgium, that was long enough for former Chelsea prospect Michael Olise to snatch a winner for France, taking them top of the table in their group.
Lacroix did play the full-90 in what was his ninth cap and third straight start for Les Blues, dating back to the third-place game at the World Cup. Unlike that goalfest against England, France have kept back-to-back clean sheets with Lacroix during this international break.
