Photo by Harvey Murphy/News Images/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Photo by Harvey Murphy/News Images/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Xabi Alonso had a Friday night to forget as Chelsea succumbed to a 3-0 defeat at the hands of west London rivals Brentford.
In Alonso’s defence, he went into the game without some key players. Joao Pedro was absent because of an injury, while Reece James was also sidelined.
Moises Caicedo has not recovered yet from his own injury problem either, so Chelsea had a real midfield issue at the Gtech Community Stadium.
James has not been in the best of form, but being without the 26-year-old and Caicedo and having to start a 36-year-old Jordan Henderson and Valentin Barco certainly did not strengthen Chelsea’s position.
Whatever the case, while you can have some sympathy for Alonso, he has not exactly helped himself since his arrival at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea’s defence has been heavily criticised this season, which is more than fair. But the number of goals and chances the Blues are conceding is not solely down to bad individual defending.
Chelsea’s structure is a real issue right now. A coach of Alonso’s ability failing to fix it is undoubtedly the most disappointing aspect of his tenure so far.
Of course, it is still early days. He has time to adjust things, and perhaps the return of Caicedo will help him to do that.
But Chelsea fans will want to see a solution as soon as possible, even if it means switching formation. Alonso is currently playing a 3-4-2-1 formation, but it seems pointless having an extra centre-back on the pitch when the team are still conceding so many goals.
At times, the midfield line looks far apart from the defence, while the wing-backs being so high up the field has become problematic when there has been a turnover in possession. Alonso has to fix these issues immediately while also considering whether he should switch to a back four.