Xabi Alonso makes a winning start with Chelsea

Xabi Alonso’s first game in charge of Chelsea turned into a wild affair. Trailing on three separate occasions, the Blues were rescued by a rapid-fire hat-trick from João Pedro.

The Xabi Alonso era begins with a spectacular victory. In their first friendly under the Spanish manager, Chelsea overcame the Western Sydney Wanderers (6-4) on Tuesday at the Accor Stadium.

The new London boss opted for a notably youthful starting XI in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Dastan Satpayev, just 17 years old, opened the scoring in the fifth minute. However, the Blues showed significant defensive frailties and found themselves behind three times against the Australian side.

João Pedro turns the match around in nine minutes

Dario Essugo first sent Chelsea into halftime on level terms, before Jamie Gittens netted the Londoners’ third soon after the break. Western Sydney, though, reclaimed the lead approaching the final quarter-hour, capitalizing on more defensive uncertainty from their opponents.

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Coming off the bench in the 63rd minute, João Pedro completely changed the complexion of the game. The Brazilian striker equalized in the 80th minute, put his team ahead five minutes later, and then completed his hat-trick before the end of regulation. Three goals in just nine minutes spared the Blues from what could have been an embarrassing outing.

Denied a spot at the 2026 World Cup with Brazil, the former Brighton man wasted no time reminding everyone of his clinical edge. Despite playing just half an hour, he finished with four shots, eight touches inside the opposition area, and 0.86 expected goals.

A spectacular win, but worrying defensive signs

Chelsea put in a promising attacking display with 25 shots and 3.27 expected goals. The Blues, however, allowed 20 attempts and 1.81 xG against a Western Sydney side that finished at the bottom of the Australian league last season.

Xabi Alonso will surely be pleased with his squad’s ability to respond and the depth at his disposal, but this first outing also highlighted the scale of defensive work needed ahead of the Premier League restart. The upcoming test against Tottenham should offer an early gauge of the Spaniard’s initial adjustments.

Mahdi Zakaria LAZRI |

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Football web writer creating digital sports content with a focus on news, analysis and stories that reflect passion, accuracy and objectivity.

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