Xabi Alonso showed a side of himself Chelsea fans hadn’t seen yet during the pre-season tour in Sydney – animated, demanding, and clearly unwilling to tolerate sloppiness – and his handling of the Mykhailo Mudryk situation afterwards told you everything about how he intends to run this squad.
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Football London‘s Bobby Vincent has reported from Sydney that Alonso was a notably animated figure on the touchline during Chelsea’s pre-season defeat to Tottenham at the Accor Stadium on Saturday evening, with Spurs netting a stoppage-time winner. The manager was visibly on his players throughout the first half, frustrated by Chelsea’s inability to keep possession in a tight opening 45 minutes. Alonso addressed it in his post-match comments, saying the side failed to hold the ball in those final ten minutes of the half – but he was equally clear that losing shape and plan in difficult moments was unacceptable.
Alonso loses patience – and it tells you exactly what he expects
Football London noted that Alonso is a passionate character despite his relaxed nature – something observers were aware of before he arrived at Stamford Bridge. His animated presence on the touchline in Sydney made that clear, and with a Premier League opener against Fulham on August 24 approaching fast, it makes complete sense.
The Tottenham defeat – unofficial as it is – came with mitigating factors, including ten men for a significant portion of the game. Alonso acknowledged that too, saying Chelsea were close to scoring in the second half and that the frustration of losing points would feel very different once the competitive season begins. The sloppiness in the first half clearly drew his attention, and he was on his players non-stop throughout that opening period.
This is the version of Alonso we need running our dressing room. The relaxed demeanour is real, but it is not passive. He will not stand on the touchline and watch Chelsea give the ball away without saying something about it.
The Mudryk development – an unexpected asset Alonso has to manage carefully
Then there is Mudryk. Football London reported that Alonso made genuinely interesting comments about the Ukrainian winger following Friday’s big news that he is able to play competitive football for Chelsea again.
Alonso confirmed he was not expecting the news at that point, describing it as a surprise to have Mudryk available to use in Hong Kong and onwards. Mudryk is now set to fly out to Hong Kong to join the squad. That is a significant development to absorb mid-tour. Alonso said the club were very happy and that Mudryk would be working with them, but he also confessed he was surprised to have this option available during the tour. Alonso and his coaching staff will take a closer look at the winger before deciding on his future this summer.
That is the sensible position. Mudryk has not played a competitive match since November 2024. Alonso and his coaching staff will assess the winger carefully before drawing any conclusions about where he fits into the squad picture.
The honest read is that Alonso was surprised to have this option available during the tour, which is a good problem to have given the depth questions heading into the season. Whether Mudryk can get sharp quickly enough to genuinely compete for minutes alongside Cole Palmer, Joao Pedro, Jamie Gittens – who recorded the assist for Estevao Willian’s goal in Sydney – and Morgan Rogers remains to be seen.
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