Record-breaking summer signing Morgan Rogers credits Xabi Alonso’s early tactics for the Blues' explosive starts to Premier League matches, a start which has the west London side sitting in sixth place despite a tough start.
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Chelsea’s impressive start to the Premier League season has lifted the Blues to sixth after six matches, with their attacking trio playing a key role.
Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and Joao Pedro have been central to their goalscoring form, contributing to 13 of Chelsea’s 15 league goals through goals or assists.
Most recently, the west London side comprehensively beat Bournemouth 5-1 at Stamford Bridge, with Chelsea finding themselves 2-0 up inside three minutes, the earliest the Blues have ever been two goals up in the Premier League.
Summer signing Morgan Rogers, who arrived from Aston Villa for a club-record £117 million, has played a key role in Chelsea's impressive start to matches under Xabi Alonso. The England international has scored four goals for his new side so far, three of which have come in the opening six minutes.
After the victory against the Cherries, Rogers was asked about Chelsea’s fast starts in matches, and the midfielder heaped praise on Alonso.
As quoted by the club’s in-house media team, Rogers said: "I put it down to the manager’s team talks before. He gets us firing, gets us going. But we always want to start off on the front foot.”
Since Alonso took charge ahead of the 2026/27 season, the Blues have scored six goals across five different matches in the opening seven minutes of games. No other side has scored more. Rogers put the quick starts down to the boss, but Alonso himself disagrees.
Speaking immediately after the 5-1 victory, the Spaniard was asked by reporters at Stamford Bridge why his side were so good at scoring early. He responded: "We always speak about how we try to start the game with good energy, but I have no explanation, no credit to me."
Scoring quickly has provided a refreshing change because, during the 2025/26 season, Chelsea conceded the opening goal in 19 Premier League matches and won only three of those games. The record has already improved; Alonso's side have lost only one of the five matches in which the Blues have scored first, and that was the 2-1 defeat to Arsenal.
Continuing to come out of the blocks fast will become even more of a strength once the defence has tightened up. Prior to the Bournemouth game, Alonso’s side had statistically been the worst defensive team in the league. Since that game, they now share that unwanted record with Bournemouth and Newcastle United.
Chelsea will look to maintain their momentum when they travel to Everton for their first match outside London this season. The Toffees remain unbeaten and have conceded just twice in four home matches across all competitions. An early goal could prove crucial for Xabi Alonso’s side, who have not kept a clean sheet in the Premier League since January.