Chelsea have had three weeks to regroup and reset after a stuttering start to September. Xabi Alonso’s men suffered two defeats and a draw in their last three Premier League outings before the international break, which has given the Spaniard time to get his ideas across to those not called up by their relevant national teams.
The Blues were thrashed 3-0 by a brilliant Brentford in their last game before the international window, to follow on from a nervy 2-2 draw at home to Hull. That was preceded by a 2-1 defeat at Arsenal, where the champions came from behind after Morgan Rogers’ early opener had stunned the Emirates Stadium.
Now, the west London outfit will welcome back a host of players, with some having more success than others on the international stage. Here, Standard Sport assesses Chelsea’s winners and losers of the international break.
Winners
Morgan Rogers: As if he didn’t already need a better start to the season, the £117million summer signing cemented himself in Thomas Tuchel’s England plans after a stellar few games for his country. That was on display with a superb performance off the right flank against the Czech Republic, as he put in a delicious delivery for Harry Kane to sweep home on his record-equalling appearance.
Operating on the right adds an extra dimension to Rogers’ game that could come as a real boost to Chelsea, and gives Alonso another option should he want an out-and-out winger down that wing. After four goal contributions in his first five league games for his new side, a strike in the 7-0 demolition of Croatia and the assist for Kane have kept the good times rolling, just in time for the visit of Bournemouth.
Maxence Lacroix: Another summer arrival at Stamford Bridge, the Frenchman has made an immediate impression on Zinedine Zidane. The former Real Madrid boss, now in charge of France, has an embarrassment of riches in central defence, but plumped for the Chelsea defender in three of Les Bleus’ four matches across this three weeks.
France were victorious three times, and all in the games that Lacroix started - the 1-0 wins over Turkey and Belgium, and the 4-1 victory against the latter most recently. The £52m signing from Crystal Palace has solidified himself as a mainstay in Alonso’s back three so far, and he looks to have done the same in Zidane’s thinking too.
Pedro Neto: While all the attention was on Cristiano Ronaldo’s sensationally abrupt exit from the Portugal camp, Neto was quietly cementing himself in new boss Jorge Jesus’ fresh chapter. The former Wolves winger has been reinvented as a right wing-back by Alonso to crowbar him into Chelsea’s 3-4-2-1 shape, the formation that saw Alonso and Bayer Leverkusen win a maiden Bundesliga title and go unbeaten in the 2023/24 campaign.
He started three of Portugal’s four games, and showed his versatility to play in a more central role in Jesus’ diamond shape in the 2-1 win in Norway, where Ronaldo was infamously an unused substitute. Neto operated on the left of that midfield quartet, before returning to his more natural right-wing berth against Wales and Denmark. Even when Jesus was experimenting, the Chelsea man remained a permanent fixture.
Losers
Cole Palmer: While a three-week hiatus will have helped the Blues’ talisman recover after a blistering start to the season, it may well have hindered his momentum, in the opposite way to that of his good friend Rogers. What’s more is that his place under Tuchel has now been thrown further into question, after the German accused the playmaker of “miss[ing] too many opportunities” to work his way into the England set-up.
After his exclusion from the World Cup cohort, Palmer was recalled into the fold for this international break, but withdrew with a minor muscle injury and with a view to managing his load. That has clearly not sat well with ex-Chelsea boss Tuchel, who is seeing the attacking midfielder’s lack of commitment to his country as a serious issue. England’s absurd strength in depth in the attacking third means Palmer’s direct rivals have all had chances to impress the Three Lions head coach, while Chelsea’s No10 has not.
Jamie Gittens: Signed with some fanfare for £48.5m in the summer of 2025, the young winger’s Chelsea career has hardly got going. He has been blighted by injury since his arrival in London, and he was struck down by a similar fate on England Under-21’s duty, limping off against Kazakhstan having started off the left flank. He was pictured leaving Molineux on crutches after the game.
It was the latest injury blow to the former Borussia Dortmund starlet’s career, having missed large parts of last season with a niggling hamstring problem, that seeped into this campaign. His only appearance under Alonso came in the Carabao Cup against Leeds, when he was replaced at half time after a poor performance.
