Chelsea GFX - GOAL

Sunday's dismal defeat to Sunderland has sounded some serious alarm bells, with the Blues only making stuttering progress under their new manager so far

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With the 2026-27 season now in full swing, the November international break feels like the natural moment to pause and take stock of Xabi Alonso's start as Chelsea manager. In short, after the legendary ex-midfielder arrived to much fanfare in the summer, the jury is still out.

Following a strong albeit leaky start to the campaign that was characterised by winning simply by out-scoring their opponents, the Blues have oscillated between positive and negative results, including being thumped by Brentford, crushing Bournemouth, falling to a vexing, rare home loss to Tottenham and beating a beleaguered Manchester United.

Coming just before the second international break of the season, Sunday's trip to bottom-of-the-table Sunderland, then, felt crucial as a marker of Chelsea's progress under Alonso and an indicator of their potential trajectory having been tipped as title contenders before a ball was kicked. The dismal 1-0 defeat, and the nature of it, is, then, real cause for concern. It's clear Alonso's honeymoon period is well and truly over.

Weak on Wearside

Chelsea were overpowered in their defeat to Sunderland and didn't have any answers going forward

To the uninitiated, it would have been pretty difficult to tell which side was in the relegation zone at the Stadium of Light on Sunday, as Sunderland bullied their sorry visitors to grind out a deserved and much-needed win. Chelsea can feel aggrieved by some controversial refereeing decisions, including the 'foul' that led to Enzo Le Fee's match-winning penalty and the failure to even award a free-kick when Cole Palmer was scythed down right on the edge of the box shortly before, but they still didn't do anything close to enough to win the game.

Against a team on a dire run of form who couldn't buy a home goal and having had a week to prepare for the encounter, Alonso's side mustered an xG of just 0.53 to the hosts' 2.55. Despite dominating the ball, the Blues lacked any sort of inventiveness, with both Palmer and Morgan Rogers' usual threat snuffed out in a congested final third. Defensively, too, they were a mess, as Levi Colwill and Wesley Fofana were run ragged by the rampant Brian Brobbey, including for the decisive spot-kick.

In the face of the contentious officiating, Alonso chose to point the finger at his players. "It's our mistake," he told Sky Sports. "I was trying to find solutions. We were missing a bit of speed on the ball, a bit of patience playing against a low block. We didn't create enough chances; we didn't have enough patience or creativity to create chances."

It's difficult to disagree, but while the Spurs defeat caused consternation, this loss sounded some serious alarm bells.

Strange selections

Alonso has come under fire for some of his selection calls, including repeatedly leaving wonderkid winger Estevao on the bench

Alonso's refusal to take aim at the refereeing raised eyebrows among sections of Chelsea's support, as did his team selection. Lining up against the Premier League's bottom club, he strangely opted for three defensive-minded midfielders behind an attack that didn't feature an out-and-out striker and left Estevao - who dazzled against Manchester United last time out - on the bench.

Those decisions contributed significantly to the Blues' lack of creativity and cutting edge, as Jordan Henderson, Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia struggled to feed the ball to Palmer and Rogers in the half space, while Pedro Neto was isolated as a false nine and was nowhere near physical enough to cause the Black Cats' defence any problems, leaving Chelsea without a focal point.

Estevao's exclusion has been a theme of Alonso's tenure to date on the grounds of physical readiness, to the increasing annoyance of the fans, but this felt like another game that was crying out for him to wreak havoc against a shaky defence, with either Rogers or Palmer playing deeper as a No.10. In the absence of Joao Pedro, it was also odd not to start with a traditional No.9, as both Danny Welbeck and Emmanuel Emegha started on the bench.

Injuries haven't helped Alonso's cause (Emi Martinez, Jorrel Hato, Jamie Gittens, Reece James, Maxence Lacroix and Pedro are all out) and an untimely knock for Josh Acheampong forced the manager away from his preferred 3-4-2-1 shape at the Stadium of Light. However, given what he had at his disposal, the manager still didn't set his team up in a front-footed manner befitting of obvious favourites, instead going for the kind of physical XI that Sunderland were able to go toe to toe with where more guile and speed might have been the answer.

Incomplete squad

Chelsea failed to address a number of problems with their squad in the summer despite making a lot of additions once again

The inability to field a consistent XI week in, week out has certainly hindered Alonso in his first few months at Stamford Bridge, and having handful of key absentees has exposed just how thin Chelsea's squad is - not necessarily in terms of numbers, but rather the fact that they are seriously lacking quality depth and players that the manager trusts to do a job.

That is in no small part the result of what is increasingly looking like a poor summer of transfer business; beyond regular starters Rogers, Lacroix and Martinez, the club added a clutch of young players and a handful of veterans who have so far struggled to have much of an impact or, in some cases, demonstrate that they are at the level required. Having notably been hired as a manager, rather than head coach, and played a role in recruitment, Alonso must shoulder some responsibility for that.

Full-backs Marco Palestra and Pep Chavarria are still adapting to the Premier League but haven't pulled up trees, Henderson has played his part but shouldn't need to be relied upon on the pitch at 36, and Geovany Quenda, Valentin Barco, Welbeck and Emegha don't seem to have the manager's full confidence given their scant minutes. Meanwhile, patience among the supporters is wearing thin with the likes of Fofana and Malo Gusto, whom many consider to be deadwood that should have been cut away in the summer.

The failure to secure a replacement for Enzo Fernandez before allowing the midfielder to complete his big-money move to Manchester City on deadline day is looking particularly ill-judged. With James injured yet again and nominally a defender anyway, Lavia's fitness still a question mark, Barco flattering to deceive and Henderson lacking the legs in the twilight of his career, there is a glaring need for a box-to-box No.8 in Alonso's squad.

Consequently, reports that Chelsea could make a play for Bournemouth's Alex Scott - whose all-action skillset makes him perfect for the role - as early as January are unsurprising. They could feasibly add two new midfielders, if they reignite their interest in Monaco's Lamine Camara after his deadline-day switch dramatically collapsed.

But even with some January additions and potential exits, there is a sense that it will take at least one more transfer window to form a squad that is genuinely competitive for the long-term, and on multiple fronts. As things stand, Alonso and the club's decision makers will likely still have elite-level full-backs, at least one centre-back and a striker on their wish list.

No Pedro, no party

There is a massive difference in Chelsea's form and confidence with and without injured striker Pedro

At one of many low points of their stewardship, Chelsea's owners surely appointed Alonso to revolutionise the team's style of play, perhaps moulding it in the image of his undefeated, title-winning Bayer Leverkusen side of the 2023-24 Bundesliga season. However, so far we've only seen the hallmarks of that great team in glimpses.

The Blues did start the campaign in scintillating fashion, albeit they conceded a lot of goals, but in the weeks and months since we certainly haven't witnessed the kind of swashbuckling, front-footed football that the Spanish tactician was expected to implement on a consistent enough basis (although he's been hamstrung by a limited squad, as mentioned).

What's clear is that Alonso's side are much less threatening without their injured top-scorer Pedro leading the line, failing to net in three of the five games he's missed so far and only winning once. That lone victory over Manchester United came courtesy of two self-destructive defensive lapses from Lisandro Martinez in the second half, before which Chelsea had looked far from convincing.

Without Pedro, the west Londoners have often lacked ideas and a clinical edge in front of goal - he's key to their identity under their new manager and they will desperately hope he's fit again after the international break. They are at risk of becoming one dimensional as a result, but they won't mind as long as they're winning games.

Time will tell

Alonso will be expected to get Chelsea back on track after the international break or risk the pressure growing over a tough festive schedule

It's pivotal for Chelsea and Alonso that the defeat at basement boys Sunderland becomes merely an anomaly, rather than the start of anything more sinister for a club that has a nagging habit of struggling over the jam-packed festive period. Alongside some other potential returnees who will bolster their options, Pedro's comeback will undoubtedly be crucial.

Taking stock himself with the second international pause of the season now upon us, the manager's assessment was spot on, and the same could be said for his entire tenure to date with his honeymoon period now firmly behind him.

"It could have been better," he told the club's in-house media. "It's progress but we want to be more consistent." He can take solace in the fact Chelsea are still fifth in the Premier League table, the defence has shored up and what he has delivered overall is still a vast improvement on the club's dire end to 2025-26.

With winnable games against Leeds (H), Nottingham Forest (A) and Crystal Palace (H) to come after the break, there is the opportunity to build that consistency ahead of things cranking up a notch over Christmas, as clashes with Liverpool, Man City and Aston Villa loom. If they don't find some rhythm, then Alonso could be in serious trouble before the year is out - an unthinkable situation back in the summer.

Read full story at source

Read full story at source