RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesShocking Chelsea stat that underlines Xabi Alonso's Enzo Fernandez conundrum originally appeared on The Sporting News .
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STAMFORD BRIDGE, LONDON – The early indications are that Xabi Alonso as Chelsea manager will be fun. That in itself is welcome for Blues fans, given such sentiments have been tricky to find at Stamford Bridge over recent years.
Alonso’s side followed up their opening 3-2 west London derby win over Fulham with another undulating contest against Brighton on Sunday, eventually prevailing 4-3 having been 3-0 up shortly after the half hour .
The £117 million man Morgan Rogers was again bright, laying on the second goal for the tireless Pedro Neto and having a key hand in Joao Pedro making it 3-0.
Like Joao Pedro, Cole Palmer has a goal in each of the opening Premier League matches after he strode from midfield to end Albion’s fightback and imperiously seal the points. By the time Pascal Gross headed home deep into stoppage time to complete the scoring, the game was up for the visitors.
MORE: Chelsea player ratings vs. Brighton
Following a display brimming with attacking intent and flair, it was startling to see after the match that Chelsea had enjoyed just 25% of possession. They only had 38% at Craven Cottage too — something for the “only one statistic that matters" brigade to enjoy, but surely not a sustainable strategy for a team hoping to be in contention for the big prizes.
“For me, you need to have context to all data,” Alonso said. "For sure, after 30 minutes we have scored to make it 3-0, and in that moment we have played too much with the result instead of keeping playing.
“I know the data is important [but] it’s how you play and what we can do better. It’s never an approach where I say ‘today we have to have 20% or 60%’; I never talk about those things. It’s about how to prepare, how to be more competitive.
“But the good thing is that you need to adapt during the game to different moments. Some moments we adapted really, really well. Other moments we need to do better.”
25.6% - Chelsea's 25.6% possession and 146 successful passes v Brighton were both their lowest figures on record (from 2003-04) in a Premier League match, while their 67.0% pass accuracy was their lowest in a home league game since February 2004 v Charlton (65.9%). Methodology. pic.twitter.com/GJanPdJxHQ
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) August 30, 2026 The context Alonso notes is absolutely fair, given how Chelsea sat off towards the end of the first half. How they played during the opening 20 minutes of the second period is more of a cause for concern. Brighton ran over a central midfield comprised of opening goalscorer Romeo Lavia and natural right-back Malo Gusto.
When Joao Pedro put Gross’ cross through his own goal to make it 3-2, Alonso sprang into action. Club captain Reece James, building back to fitness after the World Cup, and Moises Caicedo, not fit enough to start, were thrown on. Lavia, never the best bet to last 90 minutes given his awful injury woes, was withdrawn and Gusto shunted back to the familiarity of the right flank. Fears over Caicedo’s fitness came home to roost when he hobbled off 15 minutes later, meaning ex-Brighton midfielder Valentin Barco had to make his Chelsea debut amid a barrage of abuse from the travelling supporters.
It meant attention turned towards Barco’s Argentina teammate and the elephant in the room.
“Well, we’ll see,” Alonso said when asked whether Enzo Fernandez had played his last game for Chelsea amid strong interest from Manchester City and former Stamford Bridge boss Enzo Maresca. Fernandez was omitted from the weekend matchday squad, as was the case against Luton Town in the Carabao Cup in midweek.
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"We want the best for the team and that’s why we take the decision against Luton and today,” Alonso continued. "Anything that happens, we need to be aware before Tuesday evening what is going to develop. We are not sure; we are preparing for all the scenarios.
“But I am sure that whatever happens, by Wednesday morning we will have a good enough squad to compete in all the Premier League games.”
A true test of those words will come against reigning champions Arsenal next weekend. It certainly feels like reinforcement in place of Fernandez is a must. For all the baggage and noise around the tempestuous 25-year-old brings, he is an elite central midfielder, and certainly not one who would have taken Fulham or Brighton hogging the ball lightly.
As things stand, an injured Caicedo, James and Lavia and their unreliable fitness, and the inexperienced Barco look ripe for being overwhelmed by Declan Rice and Bruno Guimaraes in the Arsenal engine room.
It would be a shame to see the early Alonso enthusiasm punctured in such a way, but the man himself dismissed concerns that a slate of seven goals scored and five conceded across two games meant they were not primed to compete with the best team in England.
“I want to win,” he added. "Whatever it takes to win. Each game can be different, so we need to prepare for the best, train for the best and prepare for whatever scenario we have.
“It’s not that it’s going to be replicated against Arsenal. Brighton was a big challenge and a big test and next Sunday is going to be a big one. We can continue progressing on the good things and correcting the ones that we can do better.”
Banking a handsome fee for Fernandez would only correct half of that particular problem for a team in the goals but too often out of possession.
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