Chelsea's Preseason Has Revealed 4 Warning Signs For Xabi Alonso

Chelsea’s preseason schedule ended with a 3-1 win over Real Sociedad at Stamford Bridge. The victory capped off Xabi Alonso’s first summer in charge, with Morgan Rogers scoring on debut and João Pedro netting twice.

Taken on its own, the win looks like a tidy way to end the summer. It’s only one result, though, in a much longer tour.

Alonso’s Chelsea played six matches across Australia, Asia and London this preseason. They beat Western Sydney Wanderers 6-4, lost to Tottenham 2-1 and Juventus 1-0, and beat AC Milan 3-0. Chelsea drew 3-3 with Malaysian side Johor Darul Ta’zim, and finished with a win over Real Sociedad.

Look across that full run of games rather than just the final one, and four warning signs stand out heading into the Premier League opener at Fulham on August 24.

Chelsea’s Preseason at a Glance

1. Chelsea’s Defensive Structure Is Still Vulnerable

Cheslsea’s defensive struggles are the clearest pattern of the entire preseason, not just a one-off from the final game.

Chelsea conceded four goals in a chaotic 6-4 win over A-League side Western Sydney Wanderers to open the tour. Chelsea next needed a stoppage-time own goal to salvage a 3-3 draw against Johor Darul Ta’zim after twice surrendering the lead.

Add Chelsea’s defeats to Tottenham and Juventus, plus a shaky first half against Real Sociedad in which Jon Aramburu’s long-range volley found space that a settled back three shouldn’t be conceding. The picture across six games is consistent:

11 goals conceded and just one clean sheet all summer, against opposition Chelsea should generally be comfortable facing.

For the third straight match, Alonso sent Chelsea out in the 3-4-3 shape that won him the Bundesliga at Bayer Leverkusen in 2024.

The system is clearly taking shape in possession, but the goals-conceded pattern across the tour suggests it isn’t the finished product defensively.

2. The Wing-Back Role Still Needs Work

Alonso’s back-three system depends heavily on his wing-backs getting the balance between attacking width and defensive discipline right. That role has been one of the more unsettled parts of the puzzle through preseason.

Marco Palestra has been one of the more eye-catching performers of the tour and has continued to earn Alonso’s trust in the position.

Palestra’s positioning during Real Sociedad’s spells of pressure was a recurring theme of that afternoon specifically. He was the clearest individual example yet of a structural issue rather than a one-player problem.

It doesn’t mean Palestra should be dropped. Preseason is exactly where a young player is supposed to work through these growing pains. He’s had to learn the role on the move as Alonso has used the tour to settle on his back three.

The preseason games have ended. If the wing-back role is going to be exposed against a mid-table La Liga side, ironing it out becomes one of the more pressing jobs of the next week.

3. João Pedro Has Carried Too Much of the Attack

João Pedro’s preseason has been outstanding from start to finish. He completed a hat-trick and an assist in the opening win over Western Sydney Wanderers. He followed that up with a headed goal followed by a composed finish to seal the win over Real Sociedad, taking his tally to seven goals for the summer.

Chelsea haa looked heavily dependent on Pedro for those preseason goals, and that’s worth watching closely.

Cole Palmer glided through large parts of the Real Sociedad game without adding to the scoresheet, and Estêvão fired over from a promising position late on as Chelsea pushed for a fourth.

Losses to Tottenham and Juventus came with Chelsea managing just one goal against Spurs and failing to score at all against Juventus.

Chelsea has attacking depth on paper, with Pedro Neto, Jamie Gittens and others in the squad. Much of that depth, though, has yet to establish itself as a reliable scoring threat during preseason - which is itself part of the concern heading into the season.

4. The Enzo Fernández Situation Won’t Help Alonso

The Enzo Fernández warning sign has nothing to do with tactics. He has spent the summer at the center of transfer speculation linked to Manchester City. It is reportedly among the clubs interested in prying him away from Stamford Bridge as City look to strengthen their midfield.

Fernández was introduced as a 62nd-minute substitute against Real Sociedad and was met with a mixed reaction from the Stamford Bridge crowd - some supporters cheering, others booing.

Chelsea have shown no obvious sign of wanting to sell one of their more talented midfielders, and Fernández has given no public indication of forcing an exit.

A divided reception from Chelsea’s own fanbase came during the final home game before the competitive season begins. It illustrates a transfer subplot that could create unwanted noise around the squad just as Alonso tries to build a settled dressing room heading into the season.

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End Of My Chelsea’s Preseason Rant

None of this erases what was, on balance, a productive summer for Chelsea.

Rogers scored on debut, João Pedro has looked like one of the finds of preseason, and Alonso’s 3-4-3 is visibly taking shape after three straight outings in the system.

A 3-1 win to finish preseason, sandwiched around a genuinely entertaining tour of Australia and Asia, is not a bad platform to build from.

Chelsea now has just over a week to sort out a defense that’s conceded all summer freely. It needs to help a wing-back role still working through the details of a demanding new system. It also must coordinate a forward line that leans too heavily on one man for end product, and handle a transfer subplot that could create unwanted noise around the squad.

Get those right, and the summer looks like exactly the platform Alonso wanted. Ignore them, and they’re the kind of problems that tend to resurface once the games start to matter.

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