Chelsea star hails Xabi Alonso’s plan with parting dig at Enzo Maresca’s style

Xabi Alonso is the latest man in charge of Chelsea and his style has quickly left a mark on Levi Colwill, who believes he has release the shackles seen under previous managers

Chelsea’s Levi Colwill has hailed Xabi Alonso’s style of football as he took a swipe at his former bosses who had been “really rigid”.

The defender spent most of last year on the sidelines after suffering a serious knee injury in pre-season, restricting him to only four outings across a campaign that saw the Blues have three different men in the dugout – Enzo Maresca, Liam Rosenior and Calum McFarlane.

Alonso is the latest man to take on the hot seat at Stamford Bridge and the ex-Liverpool boss arrives with some serious pedigree. He claimed the Bundesliga title whilst in charge at Bayer Leverkusen, breaking the stranglehold Bayern Munich had on the German top flight.

His style of play aided Leverkusen as they won the double and he’s been quick to get those ideas across during his early weeks at Chelsea – with Colwill praising his principles when compared to those who’ve come before him.

He said: “Xabi wants free flowing football, I’ve had a lot of managers who are really rigid and want you in right positions, but with him, play what you see, find the space and exploited it at a fast pace.”

The Blues finished tenth last term after a dire season but Colwill believes the squad have it in them to mix it with the champions. He said: “I feel like the players we’ve got in our team are ready to do that. With having a manager of this quality now, when it all comes together we’re definitely going to be able to challenge and push for the Premier League.”

Chelsea have not won the Premier League since 2017 and, under their BlueCo ownership, they’ve only finished in the top four once. Alonso has refused to go public with any major targets and has suggested that things may not click as quick as some hope.

“I don’t want to talk too early about what’s our goal,” he said. “We want to have a good season. We want to deserve to be as high as possible, and for that we need to work hard. We need to develop this team with new players, new coach, new ideas. Sometimes it takes longer, sometimes it happens quicker.

“So be ready to try to develop this idea that we have, this plan. But so far, good feeling. Good energy. The players are working hard, and that’s what we want.”

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