The full transcript from Xabi Alonso's post-match press conference following Chelsea's 4-3 victory over Brighton in the Premier League
Xabi Alonso celebrates
Xabi Alonso celebrates after Chelsea's dramatic win over Brighton(Image: Adrian Dennis/AFP)
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Xabi Alonso has just finished his post-match press conference following Chelsea's 4-3 victory over Brighton in the Premier League.
Goals from Romeo Lavia, Pedro Neto, Joao Pedro and Cole Palmer means the Blues' perfect start under Alonso continues.
Alonso faced a room full of journalists to reflect on his side's third win in six days. football.london was in attendance and has now produced a full transcript of everything the Spaniard had to say.
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Did you enjoy today?
Quite a lot at the end. All the wins, I enjoyed them a lot. But it was a game of different moments, different feelings and at the end we are happy with the result. For sure we value a lot this win against a very good opponent that was tough in the last years. So we are happy with that. But for sure there are things, moments that we have done really well, other moments that this is a process. We are in the process to keep learning from us, to keep improving and normally it is easier with a win.
What can you tell us about Moises Caicedo's injury? Was it a re-appearance of the same injury or something new?
Hopefully it was not new and it wasn't more than last time. So he was cautious to stop, to say that this feeling was not the best but we need to assess during the week. But it wasn't something new.
Can you guarantee Pedro Neto will stay at Chelsea?
No, in football I don't guarantee anything, not anyone. But I was very happy with Pedro. He did really well, he played with a lot of energy. He is going to be very important for the team for the whole season because he has different special qualities. He is a threat in one-v-one, he attacks very well in the space, he is strong, he is competitive. I am happy that he scored, he was really close to scoring another one. I am very happy with Pedro.
Chelsea had 25% of possession today against Fulham, I think it was 38%. Is that reflective of your approach and how you want the team to be a counter-attacking transitional team or do you want that to come up?
No, you need to have context to every data for sure. After 30 minutes we have scored [to make it] 3-0, probably in that moment we have played too much with the result instead of keep playing. So the data is not important, it is how you play and what we can do better. But it is never that approach, I don't say today we need to have 60% or 20%. I never talk about those things, it is about how to prepare, how to be more competitive. But the good thing is that you need to adapt, even during the game there are different moments and some moments that we have done really, really well and other moments that we can do better.
Xabi, when you say that you were playing the result, is that down to mentality? Do you see that as complacency when you were 3-0 up?
No, I would say it is quite normal. It happens in many teams, other teams that they have already worked for and they are together and they have more games together. Normally this idea, how to manage those moments is already more good. We are in this process. So I am sure that this result in the future we can manage it better because in the Premier League, even in half-time we were 3-1 and I said guys, 2-0 lead, with two goals lead in the Premier League, it is not done. We need to still focus on playing, scoring goals, defending well and after we could have scored the fifth one and many things happened in the game.
Did you ever have any concerns about throwing Emi Martinez straight in?
Well, now with Emi, [he's a] World Cup winner, 34 years old, experience all around. I spoke with him yesterday, we talked about the game, about our team and he felt ready so I don't have to tell him many things to perform and even that for sure a keeper wants to have a clean sheet but I am happy with his first impact. He has been in the building for 48 hours so now we will have the whole week to prepare for the next one and day by day we will feel his presence because he has this charisma, this aura to influence and to have a very positive connection with the rest of the team.
Enzo Fernandez wasn't in the squad today, has he been training with you?
We'll see. We want the best for the team and that's why we made the decision against Luton and today and anything that happens before Tuesday evening, we need to be aware of what is going to develop. We are not sure, we are preparing for all the scenarios but I am sure that whatever happens from Wednesday we will have a good enough squad to compete in all the Premier League games.
How much is playing entertaining football important to you but conversely can you afford to play like that against Arsenal next week?
I want to win, whatever it takes to win and each game can be different so we need to prepare for the best, we need to train for the best and be prepared for whatever scenario we have. So it's not that this is going to be replicated against Arsenal. Today it was a big challenge and it was a big test and next Sunday it's going to be a big one but we can continue progressing on the good things and correcting the other ones that we can do better.
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