Every word Xabi Alonso just said on Chelsea's defeat to Tottenham in pre-season and the news that Mykhailo Mudryk will once again be able to play competitive football
Xabi Alonso
Xabi Alonso looks on before Chelsea's pre-season defeat to Tottenham(Image: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC)
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Xabi Alonso has just completed his post-match press conference following Chelsea's 2-1 defeat to Tottenham in the Sydney Super Cup.
Spurs, despite being down to 10 men, edged the pre-season friendly thanks to a stoppage-time winner from Richarlison. Sandro Tonali had given the north Londoners the advantage early on but Estevao Willian levelled not long afterwards.
Richarlison settled the game, meaning Chelsea leave Sydney tomorrow with a win and a defeat in the space of a few days. Here is how Alonso reacted to the match and to the news that Mykhailo Mudryk is available to play for the Blues again:
Disappointed to lose at the end, or is it more about the performance?
It was an intense, competitive game, for sure. The result, we wanted to win, for sure, to lose, none of us liked it, but it's a preparation game, it's pre-season, we have missed a few chances. The first half was really competitive, really even, and the second half with 10 men, we have been close to score that goal. It's been a good pre-season game, great crowd, great atmosphere, and luckily we conceded that late goal to lose.
But were there things that you didn't like?
Of course, in any game you think that you can do better, that's part of the process, to learn from things that we can do better, things that we have done well. In the stage that we are now, it's normal that we are going through these momentums, but the result is not the most important, it's more the performance, it's 75 minutes for many players, so it was the plan and we respected it.
How do you react to the Mudryk news?
Yes, we are happy for him, especially for him, because probably we are not able to understand what he has been through in this time and how does he feel at the moment with the things that he had to cope with. We want that he feels part of a team, because he has been training on his own for a long time, and that we have the support from everyone, from the club, from the teammates, from the staff, and for sure it will take time. So once he is with us, we will see how things develop.
Have you spoken to him and will you be seeing him in Hong Kong?
Yes, he is coming to Hong Kong, but I haven't spoken to him yet.
Do you know anything about his future?
We need to see, it's too early to tell, to see how he is in terms of fitness, in terms of this game time that you need to be involved again, so it's still early to tell.
Will there need to be quite a degree of patience with him?
Yes, we can expect that. We have the Mudryk that [we had], it will take time, but once there is a change, things start moving, and for him it's a massive change. So he trained on his own every day, and I think it had to be really, really hard, because he wanted to play football, he wanted to be part of a team, and he was not allowed to do that for such a long time. So once this big change has happened, now things will move on, and afterwards we will see if it's quicker, if it's slower, but we need to be aware of that.
There was a period in the first half where you struggled to keep possession. You looked animated...
Well, there were momentums for everything. I've said that the first half was really tight, with some moments that we could have kept the ball a little bit more, so especially in those last 10 minutes of the first half, we were not able to hold the ball that much, but we were not conceding, so this is the game, you don't always have the control, and not to lose your shape, not to lose your plan in those moments, it was important. And after the second half, the context has changed completely, with 10 men, we have been really close to scoring, but again, you want to win, but this is not important. It will come when we will be a little bit more frustrated for losing points. Not yet.
What did you know about Mudryk as a player?
Yeah, I remember watching him in Shakhtar, the impact he had, how quick he is, how good in one-on-one situations, how he could create a lot of situations on his own, and he's a special player, but he will take time for sure.
Is he someone you're excited to work with, or is it a bit of a surprise that you knew he'd get to work with him?
Yeah, to be honest, we were not expecting to have this great news at this moment, so we are very happy. We feel that he will be working with us.
What's the latest on Robert Sanchez? And when will Mike Penders report for pre-season?
Mike is joining us in Hong Kong, and Robert has a minor [injury], not a big thing, but not for today, and we'll have to wait until, let's see, for the next week. We need to go assessing almost day by day, but there was no point of taking risks today.
Relieved the charges are all out of the way after the FA's statement?
Any issue that is sorted is welcome because somehow it can affect the team and that is my concern once we have restrictions. It is good that we have solved that.
How good will it be to have a player of Mudryk's quality in your squad?
I am very happy for him, for me for sure, but mainly for him, because it's massive. As I've said, to go through what he has done, to get that frustration not to play what you love to do, it has to be really, really hard. So now for sure he's so excited, and we want to help him in that, and that he feels part of something, because that's about football, about being a team, this team spirit, this team everyday training, and you miss that when you are not allowed.
What have you made of the Australian fans?
First, we are thankful and welcome for the great support that we have had during this week. Hopefully we will come in a short time, we can't come next month for sure, because this is impossible, but in a few years we can come, but keep supporting, even if it's been so far, nowadays you get the energy from social media, and you feel it.
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