How Chelsea has changed since winning the Club World Cup – Read Chelsea F.C.

The night Chelsea’s project appeared complete

Chelsea did not simply survive PSG in New Jersey. They controlled the decisive moments of the final.

Maresca’s side pressed aggressively, attacked the space behind Nuno Mendes and repeatedly found Palmer between the left side of PSG’s defence and midfield.

The opening goal arrived after 22 minutes. Palmer doubled the lead eight minutes later before releasing João Pedro to make it 3-0 before half-time.

PSG had dominated much of the previous European season. Chelsea made them look disjointed.

The performance carried several messages at once.

Palmer had become a global star. João Pedro looked immediately at home following his move from Brighton. Moisés Caicedo and Enzo Fernández offered the balance Chelsea had spent heavily trying to create.

Reece James lifted another major trophy as captain. Malo Gusto, Marc Cucurella and Levi Colwill appeared to give the defence a clear future.

Above all, Maresca seemed to have found the structure needed to turn Chelsea’s collection of talent into a functioning team.

The victory followed Champions League qualification and success in the Conference League. Chelsea appeared to be moving upwards with a coach, squad and recruitment model working in the same direction.

The celebration at MetLife Stadium looked like the beginning.

In reality, it was the peak.

Maresca’s exit shattered the idea of continuity

The most significant change came on New Year’s Day.

Maresca left Chelsea midway through the following season after the relationship between the head coach and club hierarchy broke down.

Chelsea later described the 2025/26 campaign as “hugely disappointing” and said the abrupt coaching change had caused major disruption.

The club’s June statement explaining Maresca’s departure made the depth of the breakdown clear. Chelsea said they felt let down and believed their head coach’s focus had moved elsewhere.

Whatever the rights and wrongs of that dispute, the consequences were severe.

A team built around Maresca’s positional structure suddenly lost its architect. Liam Rosenior arrived from Strasbourg in January but lasted little more than three months.

Chelsea then finished the season under another interim arrangement before Alonso officially began work on 1 July.

The contrast with New Jersey could hardly be sharper.

Chelsea had looked like a club with a settled football identity in the Club World Cup final. Six months later, the coach responsible for it was gone.

ReadChelsea examined how Alonso inherited a job already disrupted by the World Cup calendar and another managerial reset.

The challenge is not simply creating a new system. Alonso must restore trust in the idea that Chelsea can sustain one.

The world champions failed to build on their authority

Winning the Club World Cup should have given Chelsea greater certainty.

The final provided a clear picture of what worked: aggressive pressing, Palmer operating in central areas, midfield control through Caicedo and Fernández, and a defensive structure capable of protecting possession.

Instead, the following season became another period of instability.

Chelsea finished outside the European places after changing head coach twice. The team which had beaten PSG no longer carried the same authority.

Some decline was predictable.

The Club World Cup extended Chelsea’s 2024/25 campaign deep into July. Players had little time to recover before preparing for another demanding domestic and European season.

The emotional cost may also have been underestimated. Chelsea went from the biggest match of their summer directly into a compressed recovery period.

However, fatigue alone cannot explain what followed.

The coaching upheaval removed continuity. Injuries again affected key players. A large squad created selection and development problems, while the transfer strategy continued to produce constant movement.

Chelsea’s success in New Jersey proved the squad could reach an elite level. The next season showed how difficult it was to remain there.

The squad Alonso inherits already looks different

Chelsea’s recruitment has continued despite the managerial changes.

Geovany Quenda has now arrived from Sporting, while Marco Palestra has joined from Atalanta. Emmanuel Emegha and other young players have also entered the senior picture.

Meanwhile, Tyrique George has completed a permanent move to Everton. Jesse Derry has signed a new contract before leaving for Sporting on loan.

Chelsea’s official summer transfer tracker shows how quickly the squad continues to move.

ReadChelsea has also tracked every confirmed arrival, departure and new contract during Alonso’s first summer.

The turnover creates opportunity but also raises a familiar issue.

Chelsea keep recruiting for the future while asking a new manager to produce results immediately.

Alonso has inherited a squad containing several players who featured in the Club World Cup triumph. Palmer, Caicedo, Fernández, James, Cucurella and João Pedro remain capable of forming the core of a strong side.

However, their roles may change.

Alonso’s football depends on control, intelligent positioning and defenders comfortable operating in different zones. His arrival could suit James and Fernández, while creating new demands for Chelsea’s wide players and centre-backs.

The quality is present. Chelsea must stop treating every summer as another reason to start again.

Palmer remains the clearest link to New Jersey

No player represents the Club World Cup triumph more clearly than Palmer.

He did not merely score twice in the final. He decided the game.

Palmer repeatedly found the same pocket of space, punished PSG with almost identical finishes and then created João Pedro’s goal with a perfectly weighted pass.

It was a performance associated with Chelsea’s greatest individual displays in major finals.

One year later, Palmer remains central to the club’s future.

Managers have changed and the squad continues to evolve, but Chelsea’s attack still needs to be built around his decision-making.

Alonso must find a structure which gives Palmer freedom without leaving the rest of the team unbalanced.

The same applies to Fernández.

The Argentina midfielder ended the Club World Cup as an important part of Maresca’s midfield, but questions over his long-term future have continued.

ReadChelsea has explored how Alonso needs clarity around Fernández before reshaping Chelsea’s midfield.

Keeping the strongest parts of the world champion side should be the foundation of the rebuild. Chelsea do not need to erase everything Maresca created simply because the relationship ended badly.

Alonso is being asked to recover the feeling

Alonso’s first interview as Chelsea manager repeatedly returned to culture, connection and collective responsibility.

He spoke about giving the club “soul” and making the team more important than any individual.

Those words fit the problems exposed since the Club World Cup final.

Chelsea have rarely lacked talent. Their difficulty has been turning short bursts of progress into something stable.

Alonso also wants to rebuild the connection with Stamford Bridge. The Club World Cup final showed how convincing Chelsea can look when every part of the team follows the same plan.

His job is to make that level feel repeatable rather than exceptional.

The calendar offers little room for a gentle introduction.

Chelsea begin the Premier League season at Fulham before hosting Brighton and travelling to Arsenal. Several senior players will return late after the international World Cup.

ReadChelsea has detailed how the opening fixtures give Alonso an immediate deadline.

Supporters will not demand another global trophy in his first months. They will expect signs of a coherent team.

The trophy looks different one year later

Chelsea’s Club World Cup victory has not lost its value.

The opposition were elite, the performance was outstanding and the trophy belongs permanently in the club’s history.

However, its meaning has changed.

On 13 July 2025, the win looked like confirmation that Chelsea’s long rebuild had reached its destination.

On 13 July 2026, it looks more like evidence of what the squad was capable of before internal instability dragged the club backwards.

That difference should sharpen the focus around Alonso.

He is not inheriting a hopeless group. He is taking control of players who have already shown they can overwhelm the European champions in a major final.

Chelsea’s failure was not reaching that level. It was failing to protect it.

One year ago, Palmer stood at MetLife Stadium with the Golden Ball after leading Chelsea to the top of the world.

Today, another manager is trying to rebuild the culture, structure and belief which made that night possible.

The next phase should not be about recreating one perfect final.

It should be about ensuring Chelsea’s greatest performances no longer feel like isolated moments between resets.