Neo 🔍

⭐️ Chelsea defender (on loan at Crystal Palace) Honest Ahanor wins Best Italian at Golden Boy 2026.

🚨 For the first time since FIFPRO World 11 started in 2005 that the Ballon d'Or winner in the same year has not been included into the Team of the Year. Harry Kane ends 5th among forwards with 27.6% of the votes. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Alonso has gone under the radar with his tactical performance, while the heat is on another five managers. Initially, his results came from strong counter-attacking performances where his high positioning of Rogers, Pedro and Palmer gave his team strong transition options. One of the easiest phases to implement and coach. He kept it simple, and it got results. The problem: a lack of control. Chelsea’s possession stats were bordering on a team playing from a level below. In trying to keep the mentioned players high, they forfeited the ball. The tactical concerns were apparent in Rogers' dual-pressing role, which teams have exploited by building up down the Chelsea left. The top managers and coaches look to control all four phases of the game. While it’s a fair point that Alonso hasn’t had the time to do this and may have concentrated on two of the four phases, it’s also fair to suggest that their defensive and attacking organisation has been woefully short of any control in either phase. In yesterday's performance, Chelsea dominated the ball yet created very little. The attacking organisation phase has not clicked, and Chelsea have remained reliant on the apparently coached attacking organisation phase. With Sunderland conceding possession, Chelsea’s main threat was nullified. Substituting Colwill for Caicedo at centre-back was the first sign of Alonso shifting blame to the players. His frustrations were clear after the game as the situation for the goal had been worked on in training yet not avoided on matchday. Time is working for and against Alonso. Working in his favour is the fact he’s only been in the job for a relatively short time, but against him is the fact he’s getting more of it on the training ground than most of their competitors. With more time on the training ground, expectations for tactical performance rise. Injuries are a fair excuse for Alonso but not at a club level. The club has spent far too much for the excuse to be valid. Alonso has the persona of a coach that you want to succeed. His tactical performances at Leverkusen were innovative, astute and unpredictable. This is the Premier League, and it's a different beast. And, to be completely honest, we need to expect more at the tactical level than we have seen so far.