Xabi Alonso just kicked off his Stamford Bridge era with an absolute barnburner, grabbing an entertaining 3-2 Premier League win against west London rivals Fulham on Monday. The new-look front three for Chelsea absolutely stole the show, putting on a devastating attacking display that’ll have fans buzzing, but at the other end, one player’s struggles might just undo all that good work.
Palmer, Rogers, and Pedro Are Straight Up Unstoppable
Morgan Rogers, rocking the Chelsea kit for the first time after his club record £117m summer move from Aston Villa, linked up with Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro like they’d been playing together for years. All three found the back of the net, and Palmer, man, he looked like the player who tore Paris St-Germain apart in last year’s Club World Cup final. This dude had a rough year, with injuries and missing out on England’s World Cup squad, but he’s back! He matched his entire Premier League assist tally from last season already by setting up Joao Pedro’s goal, which took just 31 seconds,Chelsea’s fastest since October 2016. Palmer told Sky Sports he “rested, I recharged and, yeah, I’m ready and I’m hungry.” And you can tell. His trickery, creativity, and work-rate were on full display. Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville was raving, saying Palmer was “sensational” and that “him and Morgan Rogers were electric with Joao Pedro,the front three were brilliant.” He even called it “one of the best things I’ve seen this weekend.” Jamie Carragher, Alonso’s old teammate, even went so far as to say this trio is “as good as anything in the Premier League right now.” Talk about high praise!
A Keeper Crisis is Brewing, And It’s Ugly
Here’s where it gets dicey, folks. While the offense was cooking, goalkeeper Robert Sanchez had a rough outing. He made two errors that directly led to Fulham’s goals from Josh King and Gonzalo Garcia, and now there are some serious questions hanging over him. Alonso, bless his heart, talked about collective responsibility and how “all the lines… we want to do better in everything.” He stressed it’s “going to be a process” and that they “need to accept and learn from them [the mistakes].” But let’s be real, the heat is on Sanchez. Carragher didn’t mince words on Sky Sports, stating Chelsea “will never win the league with Sanchez in goal.” Ouch. That’s a tough take, but after seeing those mistakes, it’s hard to argue it doesn’t sting.
This early in the season, you gotta wonder if this win is a sign of Chelsea’s title hopes or a flashing red light for their defense. The attacking firepower is absolutely there, with Palmer just two goals away from 50 in the Premier League, looking refreshed and hungry. But if they can’t shore things up at the back, especially between the sticks, all that offensive brilliance might just get wasted. Alonso has some major work to do to get his whole squad on the same page.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by BBC Sport.
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