ไทย
English
中國人
The first public-facing friendly of the Xabi Alonso era at Chelsea delivered plenty of drama, as the Blues scraped through a wild 6–4 victory against Western Sydney Wanderers on Tuesday.
A youthful starting lineup was made to toil for the opening hour, with goals from Dastan Satpayev and Dário Essugo both being cancelled out before the interval.
Omari Kellyman and Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli were brought on at halftime, before Alonso's more established names entered the fray around the hour mark. The arrivals of Cole Palmer, Estêvão, João Pedro, Levi Colwill and Marco Palestra came with Chelsea trailing 3–2, having conceded an unfortunate goal to Dylan Scicluna following some sloppy defensive play.
The closing 25 minutes effectively became the 'Pedro Show,' as Chelsea's undisputed first-choice striker laid on an equalizer and struck three times himself to put the game beyond the hosts and deliver a thrilling opening chapter to Alonso's reign.
Alonso's First Formation Hint
One of the most pressing questions surrounding Alonso concerned his favored formation. A 3-4-2-1 brought remarkable success in the Bundesliga before he transitioned to a 4-2-3-1 during his time at Real Madrid.
Closed-door friendlies against Bromley and Crawley Town saw Alonso stick with a four-man backline, and that 4-2-3-1 shape remained in place in Sydney. Even without the ball, Chelsea held a 4-4-2 defensive structure.
Naturally, this doesn't confirm Alonso will be locked into this system at Chelsea, and adjustments may come once more first-team players return to full fitness, but three games into his tenure, the 4-2-3-1 has consistently been his formation of choice.
An Inexperienced Lineup Plagued by ... Inexperience
For the opening hour, Alonso opted for a heavily youthful selection. Liam Delap, Tosin Adarabioyo, Josh Acheampong and Dário Essugo were the only established first-team players in the starting XI, with the remainder drawn from the club's academy ranks.
Such a lineup was never going to reflect Alonso's strongest available side, nor even the group that took the field for the final half-hour, and the experience gap was glaringly obvious, with many of the youngsters visibly struggling under the pressure of competitive play.
The wave of second-half substitutions brought an expected shift in momentum, as Chelsea began to assert their class and pulled clear of their hosts, who, despite showing impressive energy, were ultimately unable to handle Chelsea's high-profile recruits.
Delap Misses Huge Opportunity to Shine
Chelsea have an abundance of striking options, but the circumstances gave Liam Delap a golden opportunity to make his mark from the off. With Pedro coming off the bench, Emmanuel Emegha sidelined through injury and Nicolas Jackson yet to link up with the squad after the World Cup, Delap knew a standout showing could have significantly boosted his standing.
Instead, the Blues got very little from Delap during his hour on the pitch, as a string of wayward passes and visible signs of frustration left him overshadowed by 17-year-old Satpayev, whose early goal showed a clinical edge that Delap hasn't consistently demonstrated since his days at Ipswich Town.
Satpayev is expected to head out on loan, but he will almost certainly be followed through the exit by at least one senior striker—possibly two if Chelsea complete their reported pursuit of Brighton & Hove Albion's Danny Welbeck.
Pedro's place is not in question—that was evident even before his hat-trick here—leaving Delap, Jackson and Emegha competing for a single remaining spot in Alonso's squad. This outing did little to strengthen Delap's claim.
Plenty of Work to Do
This is a textbook case of not reading too much into a preseason friendly. Chelsea were without several key players, and those who did feature were far from their peak sharpness.
Western Sydney fully deserved their goals and could even make a case for having been the superior side for much of the match, particularly in the first hour, as they exposed real vulnerabilities in both versions of Chelsea's defensive setup.
Enable functional cookies to see this feature.
Building out from the back and navigating the opposition press both proved genuinely difficult for Chelsea's defenders in what was an undeniably uncomfortable beginning to the Alonso era.
Crucially, the squad's bigger names will become increasingly prominent over the coming weeks, which should mean less of the raw inexperience and more of the polished quality on display. Only at that point will a meaningful evaluation of Alonso's early tenure truly be possible.