Chelsea's Identity Emerges Under Xabi Alonso
Chelsea finally looked like a Xabi Alonso team.
After two flat defeats and a muddled shape on this pre-season tour, they tore into AC Milan in Jakarta with a clarity and conviction that had been missing. A 3-0 win, Joao Pedro’s double, a set-piece masterclass, and a system that suddenly made sense.
This was not just a result. It was an identity beginning to click.
Alonso goes all‑in on 3-4-3
The half-measures are gone. The hybrid between a 4-2-3-1 and Alonso’s favoured 3-4-3 was parked here, replaced by the full-blooded version of his system – and it suited Chelsea.
Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia ran the midfield with a maturity that belied the calendar. Caicedo repeatedly dropped into the back line to launch attacks, dictating the tempo from deep. Lavia, meanwhile, stuck to Luka Modric with a discipline that left the Croatian legend largely irrelevant to the contest.
Ahead of them, the structure had bite. The wing-backs pushed high, the front line rotated, and Milan’s reshuffled defence never settled. The patterns Alonso has been sketching in training finally appeared on the pitch.
Jakarta got a glimpse of what this Chelsea might become.
Palestra’s breakout on the left
Marco Palestra was the revelation down the left.
Nominally a left wing-back, he played like a two-footed problem Milan could not solve. Comfortable going inside or outside, he repeatedly drove at his man, opening passing lanes and angles that kept Chelsea on the front foot.
His best moment in the first half came when he cut in with composure and slipped a clever ball into Joao Pedro, only for the Brazilian to scoop his first-time effort over from a prime position. It should have been 1-0.
The miss only delayed the inevitable.
Palestra’s versatility – equally at home on either flank, comfortable off both feet – felt like a tactical gift for Alonso. On this evidence, he is more than just depth. He is a genuine weapon in a system that demands intelligence from its wide players.
The McPhee effect: corners become a weapon
Chelsea scored 10 goals from corners across the entire 2025/26 Premier League season.
They scored two in 90 minutes here.
Austin McPhee, appointed as set-piece coach only a couple of weeks ago, is not wasting time. The routines were sharp, the movement rehearsed, the delivery consistent. Milan never looked settled when Chelsea stood over a dead ball.
On the stroke of half-time, the pressure finally told. Caicedo whipped in a corner, Joao Pedro peeled away from goalkeeper Lorenzo Torriani and glanced a clever header into the far corner. Unmarked. Unchallenged. 1-0, and a first glimpse of the new set-piece era.
Three minutes after the restart, another corner brought another blow. This time the ball was cleared only as far as Caicedo on the edge of the box. He met the dropping ball with a crisp volley, driving it through a crowd and into the net for 3-0.
Two goals from corners, both different, both clearly designed. For a team that has too often wasted dead balls, this was a significant step.
Joao Pedro punishes Milan
If his first-half miss was poor, his response was ruthless.
Deep into first-half stoppage time, Joao Pedro corrected the narrative. Caicedo’s corner, a clever dart away from Torriani, a deft header. Chelsea went into the break with a deserved lead and a forward suddenly brimming with confidence.
Then Milan blinked.
They made seven changes at half-time and were punished inside a minute. Pedro Neto bent in an in-swinging cross from the right, and Joao Pedro ghosted to the back post to turn it in from close range. Sharp movement, simple finish. 2-0.
Two goals in as many minutes of play, separated by the interval but linked by the same theme: Chelsea’s aggression around the box and Joao Pedro’s instinct for space.
On a night when the system shone, the No 9 still mattered. He looked like a striker who understands exactly what this manager wants from him.
Neto, Caicedo and the midfield engine
Pedro Neto’s performance underlined why Alonso wants wide forwards who can both create and threaten goal.
He forced Torriani into a full-stretch save on 27 minutes with a curling effort from a loose ball, then opened the second-half floodgates with that wicked cross for Joao Pedro. Constantly on the half-turn, always looking to attack his defender, he gave Chelsea an outlet whenever Milan tried to push up.
Behind him, Caicedo did almost everything. Corner taker. Deep-lying playmaker. Goalscorer. His volley for the third goal was struck with the conviction of a player who feels central to the project, not just a destroyer screening the back line.
With Lavia snapping around Modric and shutting down passing lanes, Chelsea’s midfield looked balanced, assertive and, crucially, in control.
Bench brings energy, woodwork denies a rout
The scoreline could have been heavier.
Geovany Quenda arrived and immediately went at his defender, standing him up in the box before driving past and smashing a fierce effort against the near post on 74 minutes. It was the kind of direct, fearless play that turns pre-season minutes into a genuine case for more involvement.
On the opposite flank, Nicolas Jackson produced a cameo that will linger in Alonso’s mind. He created a fine opening for Cole Palmer with a disguised reverse pass, then embarked on a jinking solo run that ended with a low strike against the post. He did everything but score.
Estevao also had his moment late on. Released down the right, he went straight for goal and tried to lift the ball over Torriani, only for the Milan goalkeeper to stay tall and tip it over the bar.
Chelsea’s substitutes did not just see out the game; they sustained the tempo and kept Milan pinned back. The woodwork was all that stopped this from becoming a statement scoreline.
A win that changes the mood
Pre-season results are not trophies. But they do shape belief.
Chelsea’s tour had taken a sour turn after the 1-2 defeat to Tottenham and the toothless 0-1 loss to Juventus in Hong Kong. Jakarta felt different. This was controlled, aggressive, and rich in chances.
Six goals past Western Sydney Wanderers, then three past Milan. A setback against Spurs, a blank against Juve, now a clean sheet and a complete performance against Serie A opposition. The pattern is uneven, but the direction under Alonso is beginning to show.
With Johor Darul Ta'zim next in Johor and Real Sociedad to come at Stamford Bridge, the schedule still offers tests. The bigger question now is not whether Chelsea can win these games.
It is whether this 3-4-3, these set-piece gains, and this growing confidence will carry into the season when the points finally count.
