{"id":18549,"date":"2026-07-18T15:16:21","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T15:16:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=18549"},"modified":"2026-07-18T15:16:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-18T15:16:21","slug":"xabi-alonso-finally-adresses-long-standing-chelsea-issue-in-pre-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=18549","title":{"rendered":"Xabi Alonso finally adresses long-standing Chelsea issue in pre-season"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"post-377554\">\n<div class=\"article-follow\">\n<div class=\"article-sharing google-follow\">  <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"28\" height=\"28\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thechelseachronicle.com\/wp-content\/themes\/grv-media\/img\/google-discover.svg\" alt=\"\"\/> <span>Add as preferred source on Google<\/span>  <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>Xabi Alonso has quietly been diagnosing Chelsea\u2019s underlying flaws, identifying a physical metric where the squad trailed nearly the entire Premier League last season.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Chelsea\u2019s biggest headache last season was an absolute lack of identity. Tactically, the Blues were entirely disjointed, best highlighted by the chaotic 3-3 capitulation against teams like Brentford and Leeds United, where the defence completely fell apart. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-grvmedia-grv-video GRVMultiVideo\"\/>\n<p>Expensive signings like Alejandro Garnacho regularly looked completely lost on the pitch, leading to fans even booing the Argentine at one point. <\/p>\n<p>Liam Rosenior\u2019s disastrous stint at Stamford Bridge culminated in a brutal run of five consecutive Premier League defeats without scoring a single goal, which summed everything up.<\/p>\n<section class=\"grv-talking-point\" data-trigger=\"vue-sidebar\" data-story-id=\"5a9c74ee-9dfb-4c17-80a3-f12c2bcadb5e\" data-story-name=\"Talk Chelsea\" data-comment-id=\"3df06f4b-931c-40ed-aef1-f726083682bc\" data-story-slug=\"talk-chelsea\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__inner\">\n<header class=\"grv-talking-point__header\">  <\/header>\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__content\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__cta\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__title-wrap\">\n<p><h3 class=\"grv-talking-point__title\">How do you feel about this, Chelsea fans?\ud83e\udd14<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__embed\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"819\" height=\"1024\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 991px) 100vw, 800px\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/transfer-rumour-2-819x1024.png\" alt=\"Chelsea in talks over Shakhtar Donetsk playing at Stamford Bridge\" class=\"wp-image-377523\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/transfer-rumour-2-819x1024.png 819w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/transfer-rumour-2-240x300.png 240w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/transfer-rumour-2-768x960.png 768w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/transfer-rumour-2-912x1140.png 912w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/transfer-rumour-2-600x750.png 600w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/transfer-rumour-2.png 1080w\"\/><\/div><figcaption title=\"A generic interior partial view of Stamford Bridge is seen ahead of the VisitMalta weekender soccer match between Chelsea FC and Bayer 04 Leverkusen at Stamford Bridge in London, United Kingdom, on August 8, 2025. (Photo by Domenic Aquilina\/NurPhoto via Getty Images)\">Photo by Domenic Aquilina\/NurPhoto via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-xabi-alonso-addresses-chelsea-s-running-data-from-last-season\">Xabi Alonso addresses Chelsea\u2019s running data from last season<\/h2>\n<p>A report from the Daily Mail states that Xabi Alonso has taken a deep dive into Chelsea\u2018s analytical reports, which has exposed the physical drop-off from last season. <\/p>\n<p>The data reveals a shocking lack of intensity, showing that the Blues were physically outrun by their opponents in all but one of their Premier League matches, with the 1-1 draw against Liverpool at Anfield proving to be the solitary outlier. <\/p>\n<p>Even more concerning for the new manager is that Chelsea covered the lowest total distance out of all 20 top-flight clubs, highlighting a major work-rate issue that Alonso is now determined to fix.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-how-xabi-alonso-likes-his-sides-to-play\">How Xabi Alonso likes his sides to play <\/h2>\n<p>In a Xabi Alonso system, it demands relentless physical output, a style he perfected during Bayer Leverkusen\u2019s historic Bundesliga run. His teams dominate possession, but that control relies entirely on non-stop movement and aggressive, highly coordinated counter-pressing the second they lose the ball. <\/p>\n<p>Wing-backs are expected to sprint tirelessly to stretch opponents, while midfielders constantly shut down counter-attacks through sheer work rate. <\/p>\n<p>Alonso expects his players to outrun and outwork the opposition, maintaining a suffocating, high-intensity press for ninety minutes, a far cry from the passive physical output Chelsea showed last season.<\/p>\n<div class=\"see-more-wrapper lazy see-more-open see-more-blank extra-content\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.thechelseachronicle.com\/news\/xabi-alonso-finally-adresses-long-standing-chelsea-issue-in-pre-season\/none\" data-type=\"subscribe\">\n<div class=\"see-more subscribe\">\n<figure class=\"newsletter\">\n<div><svg class=\"loading\" width=\"118\" height=\"36\" viewbox=\"0 0 118 36\"><use href=\"#dots-svg\"\/><\/svg><\/p>\n<div class=\"signup\"><span class=\"hf\">Join Our Newsletter<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><script>grvLoadAnalytics = () => {(function(d,s,i){var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)(0),j=d.createElement(s);j.async=true;j.src=\"https:\/\/www.googletagmanager.com\/gtag\/js?id=\"+i;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(document,'script','G-E7VRWQHDP6');(function(d,s,i){if(!\/callback=in\/.test(window.location.search)){var e=d.createElement(s);var n=d.getElementsByTagName(s)(0);e.type=\"text\/javascript\";e.async=true;e.src=\"https:\/\/static.chartbeat.com\/js\/chartbeat.js\";n.parentNode.insertBefore(e,n);}})(document,\"script\",\"G-E7VRWQHDP6\");(function(){let s=document.createElement(\"script\");s.async=true;s.dataset.domain=\"thechelseachronicle.com\/MFj4XQ\";s.src=\"https:\/\/api.publytics.net\/js\/script.manual.ping.min.js\";document.getElementsByTagName(\"head\")(0).appendChild(s);})();if(!\/callback=in\/.test(window.location.search)){setTimeout(function(){!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';n.queue=();t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)(0);s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,document,'script','https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');fbq('init','663509325503632');fbq('track','PageView');fbq('track','ViewContent',{content_name:'Xabi Alonso finally adresses long-standing Chelsea issue in pre-season',content_category:'News',content_ids:(377554,\"xabi-alonso\"),content_type:'post',});},3000);}}<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Add as preferred source on Google Xabi Alonso has quietly been diagnosing Chelsea\u2019s underlying flaws,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18550,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18549","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chelsea"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18549","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18549"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18549\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/18550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18549"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18549"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18549"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}