Xabi Alonso noted some issues with Chelsea’s play in the game against Western Sydney Wanderers, despite his team getting a win.
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It’s time for Xabi Alonso’s first post-match press conference as Chelsea manager, and there was all manner of interesting stuff to get into.
The new coach saw his team blow away Western Sydney Wanderers 6-4 on Tuesday morning, and there was plenty of positive stuff to get into. However, Alonso noted some negatives right off the bat.
Alonso unhappy with Chelsea’s game management
chelsea fc open training session ()
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – JULY 26: Head Coach Xabi Alonso of Chelsea FC looks on during a Chelsea FC Open Training Session at Allianz Stadium on July 26, 2026 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Ayush Kumar/Getty Images)
“I think that it has been a very useful friendly that we can learn a lot from today,” the coach began.
“[But] there were moments that we were struggling to find solutions, and we need to have this, the positives is that we correct them, but there were moments that the game management is something that we can learn from today.
“When they were pressing so high, it was tough to find the solution from inside, to have different understanding of what’s happening, and to make those changes in the game. It’s something that will happen often in all the games, and the more situations we have that we are struggling and we find the solutions, the better team we will be.”
Given how little time some players have been working with him, that’s no surprise – it will be a few months at least before we really see the team operating at their full potential.
In other news…
Alonso also had some words on Romeo Lavia, and why the central midfielder had not featured for even one minute in the friendly.
You can see the goals from the game here, as the Blues blew away WSW.
Xabi Alonso
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