Chelsea’s 2025-2026 season ended with a tenth-placed finish on 52 points and an FA Cup final defeat to Manchester City. That was comfortably the worst return of the BlueCo ownership era, so the club’s response was to go through the sort of managerial upheaval that most teams would spread across a decade rather than seven months. Enzo Maresca was sacked on New Year’s Day after it emerged that he’d been in discussions with Manchester City to take over from Pep Guardiola, whilst Liam Rosenior arrived from Strasbourg and lasted barely three months.
Five straight defeats without scoring unsurprisingly cost Rosenior his job in April, with Calum McFarlane put in place on an interim basis, just as he had been when Maresca was given the booty. Xabi Alonso, out of work since Real Madrid sacked him back in January, was appointed on a four-year deal in May, taking charge of the club from the start of July. By the time Chelsea’s pre-season friendlies came around, Blues supporters would have been forgiven for wanting a summer of stability more than a summer of goals. They mostly got the latter.
Alonso’s side played six friendlies across three continents, from Sydney to Hong Kong, Jakarta and Johor, before finishing at home to Real Sociedad. They scored 16 goals and conceded 11 during a tour that answered some questions about the Spaniard’s favoured 3-4-3 shape whilst leaving the defensive side of things looking entirely unsettled.
Fixtures and Results
Here is the quick guide to Alonso’s first six games in charge, which included a proper world tour. Three wins, two defeats and a draw, with goals flowing at both ends more often than not, is suggestive of a club that will, at the very least, be exciting to watch this season.
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28 July | Western Sydney Wanderers | Accor Stadium, Australia | Chelsea won 6-4 |
| 1 Aug | Tottenham Hotspur | Accor Stadium, Australia | Chelsea lost 2-1 |
| 5 Aug | Juventus | Kai Take Stadium, Hong Kong | Chelsea lost 1-0 |
| 8 Aug | AC Milan | GBK Stadium, Indonesia | Chelsea won 3-0 |
| 9 Aug | Johor Darul Ta’zim | Sultan Ibrahim Stadium, Malaysia | Chelsea tied 3-3 |
| 15 Aug | Real Sociedad | Stamford Bridge, England | Chelsea won 3-1 |
How Each Friendly Played Out
Alonso’s reign began with an eye-catching 6-4 win over Western Sydney Wanderers, thanks to Joao Pedro grabbing a nine-minute hat-trick either side of goals from Dastan Satpayev, Dario Essugo and Jamie Gittens. Entertaining as it was, shipping four goals to an A-League side in your first outing is not exactly the defensive statement a new manager wants to make, even in a game where nobody was trying especially hard and everyone knew it was more about getting fitness into the legs of the players. Sadly for Chelsea supporters, worse was to come.
Defeats
Tottenham Hotspur notched up a 2-1 win in Sydney, with Sandro Tonali’s deflected effort giving Chelsea’s London rivals the lead before Estevao equalised with a header. Kevin Danso was sent off early in the second-half, but Chelsea managed only the same number of shots on target as their ten-man opponents and could not turn the extra man into a goalscoring advantage. Antonin Kinsky twice denied Joao Pedro and Estevao before Richarlison snatched a winner in injury time. The fact that it was Tottenham is what made the late capitulation sting.
After that, Juventus won 1-0 in Hong Kong courtesy of an Edon Zhegrova curler. It was, at least, a tighter and scrappier affair than the two high-scoring games either side of it. That will have given Alonso at least some cheer, even though Chelsea rarely threatened themselves. It was actually the first time in the tour that their attack had gone quiet, which was suggestive of a side that was still struggling to get to grips with what the manager was asking of them. Although they conceded, it was tighter at the back than it had been, but the attacking flair was sacrificed for that.
Back to Winning Ways
Order was restored in Jakarta, where Chelsea beat AC Milan 3-0 to win the Indonesia Super Cup. Two goals came from Joao Pedro and Moises Caicedo added a well-struck volley, proving that that is still something that he’s got in his locker. It was a chastening night for the Serie A side, whilst arguably being Chelsea’s most complete performance of the summer. Alonso will have been pleased with the mix of control and cutting edge in the same 90 minutes, given the fact that he hadn’t seen that from his players up to that point on the pre-season tour.
The tour finished with a wobble in Malaysia, where Johor Darul Ta’zim, the Malaysian champions and considerable underdogs on paper, twice came from behind to lead Chelsea late on. Liam Delap scored two penalties to keep Chelsea level at first before getting in front, but the Southern Tigers hit back through Oscar Arribas and then Bergson with four minutes left. It was only a Mykhailo Mudryk cross deflected in off a Johor defender in the 89th minute that rescued a 3-3 draw. It was a scrappy way to end the trip, and a reminder that concentration is key, irrespective of the opponent.
Chelsea were at least able to sign off at home with a 3-1 win over Real Sociedad, with new signing Morgan Rogers marking his debut with a goal. Joao Pedro continued his goalscoring form by adding two more in the second-half after Sociedad had equalised through Jon Mikel Aramburu. Alonso used a back three for the third match running, with Caicedo dropping in alongside the centre-backs. The display improved noticeably once Chelsea began pressing higher after a sluggish first 45 minutes, which is what Alonso will be hoping becomes the norm.
What Punters Can Learn from Chelsea’s Pre-Season
Joao Pedro’s summer numbers stand out as being arguably the most notable thing about Chelsea’s pre-season. He scored a hat-trick against Western Sydney Wanderers and a brace each against Milan and Real Sociedad, adding up to seven goals in five appearances. With Nicolas Jackson and Liam Delap both left out of the Real Sociedad game amidst uncertainty over their futures, he was Chelsea’s only recognised striker available for that final warm-up. Backing him in Chelsea’s opening fixtures looks like a reasonable decision, given how heavily Alonso has leaned on him already.
The bigger question is how many Chelsea are going to concede, rather than how many they score. Four goals let in against an Australian club side and two more against Tottenham, despite playing over an hour with a man advantage, suggests defensive organisation that is working under a third head coach in seven months. It is still a work in progress, whatever the final league table said about Alonso’s old Bayer Leverkusen sides. Both Teams To Score markets look worth another look in Chelsea’s early Premier League games until that back three settles down properly.
Then there is Enzo Fernandez, whose mixed reception from the Stamford Bridge crowd against Real Sociedad, jeers mixed with cheers, came less than a day after Manchester City missed Chelsea’s own deadline to make a bid for him. That points to him staying at Stamford Bridge for the season after all, but a player who has been the subject of transfer speculation as recently as all that is not always guaranteed to start. Anyone following Chelsea markets closely this season would do well to keep an eye on his role before assuming he is going to automatically be first choice in Alonso’s midfield.