Chelsea's Disappointing Performance: Xabi Alonso Addresses Key Issues

Chelsea’s bruising afternoon ended with Xabi Alonso staring straight at the hard truths. His team had competed for 45 minutes, then simply fell apart.

The manager didn’t dress it up. “Everything was disappointing especially the result but we can do better. We must do better,” he told MOTD, his verdict as blunt as the scoreline. Chelsea went in level, then shipped three after the break, undone again and again by basics they keep getting wrong.

“For 45 minutes we were competing well, but in the second half we dropped, and conceded the three goals,” Alonso said. “You need to be very focused, and once you concede from set-pieces, it gives them an advantage and control because once you concede the second goal it becomes much harder and we lost a little bit of our discipline when we were close to the box. We have to correct, it was our mistakes.”

The pattern is becoming grimly familiar. Chelsea look organised in phases, then one set piece sparks panic, and the rest unravels. The pressure told again.

Blunt in attack, brittle at the back

Alonso admitted the attacking display never truly caught fire either. Chelsea had territory, but not incision.

“First half we were around but not creating big chances,” he said. “We missed the last pass, the last dribble to get shots in clear positions, but that's one part. The other part is when you need to hold, when you need to be tight, [the opponent] is trying to attack you and you need to know how to defend and stick together. Win duels and be consistent in that part.”

They did neither well enough. When the game demanded control and calm, Chelsea offered space and hesitation. The head coach knows the issues are not confined to one line of the team.

“It's everything but for sure individual and collective details will have to be better, but it's not only defensively, with the ball there are parts where we need to do better,” he said.

An international break now cuts into any chance of an immediate response. Alonso refused to lean on that as an excuse. “It is what it is. Now we will have time with some players, but we can't change that.”

Colwill: ‘We’ve been bullied in the box’

On the pitch, Levi Colwill felt the damage in real time. The defender, speaking to Sky Sports, did not hide from the responsibility.

“It was tough. Firstly conceding a set piece was not the best, we tried to push and maybe overexposed ourselves, played some passes we shouldn't and they hit us on the counter, and got the second goal and the third goal hit home and hurt,” he said. “Second half we weren't good enough and we have a lot to work on in the international break.”

Five goals conceded from set pieces already tells its own story. Colwill put a harsher word on it.

“Not been good enough. At times we have been bullied in the box, we need to definitely improve with that,” he admitted. “We have got all trust in our set piece coach and still adjusting to new things. We do need to improve as a team.”

He rejected any suggestion the players downed tools, insisting the mindset held even as the scoreline slipped away.

“I don't think spirit went down. It hurt and we tried to push for equaliser and we got hit on the counter attack. I don't think our spirit dropped.

“We still need to improve a lot. We can't rely on our front three to pull us out of danger. The rest of us have to help as much as possible. We definitely have a lot of room to improve.”

A harsh landmark for Alonso, a historic debut for Nicoll-Jazuli

The numbers around Alonso’s start are already uncomfortable. He is only the sixth manager to see his side concede two or more goals in each of his first five Premier League matches, joining Mick McCarthy, Sammy Lee, Terry Connor, Slavisa Jokanovic, and Scott Parker on a list no coach wants to touch.

Amid the frustration, one moment did cut through the gloom. Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli stepped off the bench and into the record books, becoming the first player born in 2010 to play in the Premier League, and the first 16-year-old ever to feature for Chelsea in the competition.

A teenager making history on debut, in a team still searching for its identity. The question now is whether Chelsea can grow around him as quickly as he is growing into the league.