Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
There were some surprises in Chelsea’s starting XI for their first Premier League game of the season against Fulham.
There was no Moises Caicedo for Chelsea because of a small setback in training, while new signing Marco Palestra was also missing from the matchday squad.
With Wesley Fofana suspended, Josh Acheampong made a rare start for the Blues at Craven Cottage.
Malo Gusto and Josh Acheampong could still leave Chelsea
Despite Acheampong and Malo Gusto starting against Fulham, both players could still leave Stamford Bridge between now and the end of the transfer window.
According to journalist Simon Phillips, Acheampong and Gusto could yet depart in some form despite Alonso including them in his first XI.
While they got the nod in the west London derby, competition in the centre-back and right wing-back positions will be fierce this season.
Fulham's Spanish striker #07 Gonzalo Garcia (L) vies with Chelsea's English defender #34 Josh-Kofi Acheampong (R)
Fulham's Spanish striker #07 Gonzalo Garcia (L) vies with Chelsea's English defender #34 Josh-Kofi Acheampong (R)
If Alonso continues with a back three, the expectation will be for Fofana, Levi Colwill and Maxence Lacroix to start, which means first-team opportunities could be hard to come by for Acheampong.
As for Gusto, he will have to compete against Palestra and Pedro Neto for the right wing-back role.
Neto was attracting interest from Al-Hilal, but Chelsea’s reported £100m price tag appears to have scared the Saudi Arabian club off.