Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
Xabi Alonso has acknowledged that there is still much room for improvement following Chelsea’s win over Fulham at Craven Cottage on Monday night.
Chelsea were able to beat their west London rivals 3-2, thanks to goals from Joao Pedro, Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer.
However, Fulham saw more of the ball, while the game completely swung after each of their two goals in the derby.
Xabi Alonso wasn’t happy with Chelsea’s pressing during 10-minute spell
Alonso has admitted that Chelsea did not press the way they should have after Josh King’s goal, which made the score 1-1 at the time.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, the Spaniard told football.london and the rest of the English media: “We got the lead quite early, we had chances to score the second goal a few times, and after the equaliser we went through 10 minutes when we had not chosen the right [way] to press and the movement, but we have corrected well this, and in the second half we have felt comfortable without the ball controlling the game.”
Josh King of Fulham celebrates scoring
Photo by Jacques Feeney/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
In the end, Chelsea managed to get the job done, which is the most important thing. Overall, there were more positives to take away from the game than negatives.
For example, Chelsea ran 120.1 km on the night. Fulham were the only team to cover more distance in the Premier League’s opening weekend.
All three of Chelsea’s attackers also managed to get their names on the scoresheet, which is another positive.
READ MORE:Gary Neville claims he saw ‘one of the best things this weekend’ during Chelsea’s win vs Fulham
Where else Chelsea need to improve
In terms of where else the Blues can improve, Alonso is likely to have a word or two with his backline.
Maxence Lacroix was excellent and even set up one of Chelsea’s goals, while Josh Acheampong also impressed. However, Robert Sanchez was very unconvincing between the sticks and Levi Colwill was fortunate not to have seen red.
Still, it was a much better performance than their one against Crystal Palace last season. Chelsea took on Palace in their opening fixture but could only earn a point following a 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge.
That day, they were incredibly boring to watch, but no one will be saying that about them right now. Against Fulham, Chelsea were exciting for both the right and wrong reasons!