Xabi Alonso’s Chelsea Start: A New Era of Recklessness and Fun?

The Premier League season kicked off with a bang, as every potential challenger to Arsenal’s title hopes faltered, leaving Chelsea as one of the few contenders. While they weren’t flawless, Chelsea’s new-look front three showed signs of an impressive understanding, and their performance against Fulham provided early indications that they could mount a challenge.

Source: i.guim.co.uk

The new front three of João Pedro, Cole Palmer, and Morgan Rogers combined for all three Chelsea goals, with Pedro scoring the fastest goal in a Premier League manager’s first game in charge. This was a first indication of a forward line starting to show signs of an impressive understanding. The three players combined for the third goal, with Rogers flicking on for Pedro, who held the ball up for the overlapping Palmer to slip his shot cleverly between Bernd Leno’s legs.

Source: i.guim.co.uk

Alonso’s first game in charge saw a midfield made up of two players who, despite being at Chelsea together for the past three years, had never previously been paired in the centre: Roméo Lavia and Reece James. It was not entirely by choice: Moisés Caicedo was left out as a precaution while Enzo Fernández remained on the bench until the 65th minute. And it didn’t entirely work. It may look a defensively robust pairing, but there were long spells when Fulham had control of midfield.

A feature of Alonso’s approach, and one of the reasons it takes time and commitment to learn, is that players can emerge in unexpected positions. Which doesn’t entirely explain how the right-sided centre-back Maxence Lacroix found himself running on to Palmer’s pass in the Fulham box but, having got there, he demonstrated great poise to skip around Jorge Cuenca and cut the ball back for Rogers to score his first Chelsea goal.

However, for all that was new and positive, and for all that was raw and unintentionally exciting, there was one glaring and inexplicably familiar failing for Chelsea: in goal. Sánchez’s positioning seemed very strange for Fulham’s first goal, drilled in at his near post by Josh King (who also benefited from a bizarrely ineffectual attempt to track from Rogers), and while it was a far less glaring error, he pushed Timothy Castagne’s shot straight to Gonzalo García for Fulham’s second.

Although Sánchez doesn’t perhaps quite deserve the negative reputation he has among certain Chelsea fans, he did make a league-high five errors leading to goals in 2024-25 and three last season. It remains mystifying that a club that signs wide forwards by the dozen continues to refuse to invest in a top-class goalkeeper. That may yet hold Chelsea back.

Generally, though, Alonso can be satisfied with his start: a win against Chelsea’s local rivals, an impressive display from Josh Acheampong, a number of fluent interactions from his front three and plenty of signs of his system beginning to take hold, with a few obvious improvements to be made.

Alonso’s approach is based on rapid turnovers and transition, which may not be great for consistency or sustained runs of form. It was harum-scarum, end-to-end, thrilling stuff, which is all very well to watch, and may even come as a relief after the sterility of Enzo Maresca and the shambles of Liam Rosenior. But it’s clear that Alonso’s Chelsea is a team in transition, and it will take time for his principles to bed in.

The failure to replace Robert Sánchez remains a mystery, but the new-look front three should buy time for the new manager’s principles to take hold. With a number of fluent interactions from his front three and plenty of signs of his system beginning to take hold, Alonso can be satisfied with his start. But it’s clear that Chelsea’s biggest challenge lies in goal, and until that issue is addressed, their title hopes will remain uncertain.

Ultimately, Alonso’s Chelsea is a team in transition, and it will take time for his principles to bed in. But with a number of fluent interactions from his front three and plenty of signs of his system beginning to take hold, there’s reason to be optimistic about the future.

It’s clear that Alonso’s Chelsea is a team in transition, and it will take time for his principles to bed in. But with a number of fluent interactions from his front three and plenty of signs of his system beginning to take hold, there’s reason to be optimistic about the future.