I noticed this whenever @Chealsea rarely built short from a goal kick or in open play.

Gabriel steps outside the line with Palmer. Calafiori tracks Neto, Konsa tracks João Pedro, Rice tracks Rogers. Tzolis loses it—and this is exactly what Alonso wants. Chaos, trusting his quality to create something from nothing. Gabriel handles Neto well.

Tzolis → MLS → Tzolis → Ødegaard.

Now stop. 3v2. Ødegaard had to carry the ball here, forcing one defender out of the play. The situation becomes much easier. Instead, the one-touch pass to Havertz kills the whole attack.

@Chealsea progress in a 3-2-5. James drops into the first line with Lacroix & Fofana.

Why does Palmer drop beside Lavia from high to low? To make him harder to track and face the game for those deadly passes.

Acheampong in the right pocket, Neto wide. Hato & Rogers rotate: one wide, one in the pocket, while João Pedro sometimes drifts left.

I’ve seen people say Chelsea are well coached. That’s the contradiction for me. A team can have a clear structure and still be poorly coached if that structure consistently puts players in positions that don’t maximise them.

Two of the five are CBs: Hato & Acheampong. Palmer underneath while Acheampong stays high makes little sense to me. Chelsea have the quality to create danger, but if your structure consistently puts your best players in worse positions, that isn’t good coaching. It’s the contradiction.

Xabi Alonso will hold his pre-Leeds United [h] press conference from 1.30pm [UK] this afternoon

🚨🔵 Xabi Alonso on the @Arsenal_london defeat:

"With time, you have a deeper analysis and you can settle the emotions after the game. Until now, all the games have told us things, we have learned from them. We have talked, we have shared our feelings, our sensations in the game. Our main focus is now tomorrow."

On if Palestra and Caicedo ready:

"Not yet. They're still not ready to go. It's not the moment to take too early of a risk. We'll go game by game with them, but it's too early."

Xabi Alonso says Levi Colwill is OK for tomorrow.

On his first impressions of Barco:

"He's a competitor. He is a fighter, he's very good with the ball, he's very open to adapt quickly but he's intelligent. When you have this mentality and this intelligence, it's easier for him to adapt."

On being frustrating to not have Palestra:

"Especially for him. He came with huge energy and huge desire to enjoy the Premier League. He had a very good pre-season and then a few days before the game vs Fulham, he picked up an injury. We will need him for sure because he has a great potential and lots of good qualities."

On if Estevao is unhappy:

"No, Este is ready. He's training well. The other day, he had a good impact and a good chance. With Este, I count on him 100% because of his potential because he's so young. The season is going to be long."

On if he has spoken to Estevao:

"Private conversations should remain private. The season is going to be long. The players have the desire and the hunger to improve. Este is part of the group - he has a very good attitude and mentality to prepare for every game."

On if Moises Caicedo is back for Hull:

"Potentially, yes, but we will have to wait. Thursday or Friday we will know more."

On the process:

"It's going to be a long process but we need to be assessing where things are going. We need to be demanding as well. We need to improve. For sure, we want to have as many clean sheets as possible but the competition is hard. We are taking steps."

On if Henderson and Emegha are ready to play:

"No, not yet. How far? Ask me on Friday."

On if @Chealsea need to get meaner:

"We want to compete. I don't know about 'meaner', or whatever, but we need to compete in order to win games. It comes in the football way and the spirit and mentality way."

On Leeds game:

"We are expecting a very intense game, very tough, with lots of duels, but we need to cope with that and find solutions." 🔥⚔️

That’s all from Xabi Alonso for now…

💙 Danny Welbeck on Instagram:

‼️ The agreement for Mudryk to Spurs loan also included a £75m option to buy. While that option is considered unlikely to be exercised, it is expected to establish a high benchmark for any asking price should @Chealsea decide to sell the attacker next summer.

- NizaarKinsella

IT'S MATCHDAY! 🦁

🆚 Leeds
🏟 Stamford Bridge
🤝 Carabao Cup 3rd Round
⌚️ 8.00pm - UK
📺 Sky Sports - UK
⏱️ Jarred Gillett - Referee
❌️ There will be no VAR

COME ON CHELSEA! 🔵 #CFC�