Xabi Alonso has admitted that Chelsea’s start to his reign has “not been good enough”. The Spaniard arrived at Stamford Bridge to some fanfare in the summer, hired as the first “manager” under the Clearlake ownership after a string of head coaches before him.
Mixed results since arrival
Having honed his coaching pedigree at Bayer Leverkusen, leading the Bundesliga side to a maiden German top-flight title and an unbeaten season, he was named as Real Madrid’s new manager last term, but he only lasted until January. The former Liverpool midfielder returned to the Premier League in a managerial capacity back in June, taking over from Calum McFarlane’s interim tenure after a short-lived spell for Liam Rosenior in the west London dugout.
The Blues initially made a promising start under Alonso, recording three straight victories across the Premier League and Carabao Cup, against Fulham, Luton and Brighton respectively. They were then defeated by Arsenal before a rollercoaster League Cup encounter with Leeds. A 2-2 draw with Hull at home and a 3-0 humbling at Brentford ensued before the three-week international break.
Alonso on improvements needed
“I have the feeling that it will get better, but at the moment, it’s just not been good enough,” Alonso told Stan Sport. “We have some positives and some things that can be better. Not just in terms of results, but in games and especially in terms of conceding goals.
“It is something we want to improve. It is not just the defence; it is the attack as well, and the way we attack helps the way we defend. Many parts are still in development. There are positives and negatives in this process to become more consistent.”
Heavy summer spending
Chelsea spent over £340million in the summer transfer window, including smashing the British transfer record to land Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa in a £117m deal. They also sold Argentine midfielder Enzo Fernandez on Deadline Day to rivals Manchester City for £125m, but they were not able to sign Lamine Camara as a replacement.
After a heavy summer spend to back their new man, Alonso “expect[ed] to be good” immediately. “It’s very difficult to not concede any goals, but we can do better to not concede that many,” he continued.
Chelsea host Bournemouth on the Premier League’s return this weekend after a long international break stretching over three weeks. Several of the Blues’ stars performed well on the international stage, while talisman Cole Palmer withdrew from England’s camp to manage his load after a strong start to the campaign, which prompted Three Lions boss Thomas Tuchel, the former Chelsea head coach, to question the attacking midfielder’s commitment to his country after “missing too many opportunities”.
