Coach Alonso and his team are actively preparing for the new season. Photo: Getty Images.
Let's take a look at how the new team under head coach Xabi Alonso is performing during the pre-season!
A promising start ahead of Crawley Town
Chelsea kicked off their pre-season campaign by hosting EFL League Two side Crawley Town at Cobham in a closed-door friendly.
In this match, Xabi Alonso surprisingly deployed his players in a 4-2-3-1 formation instead of his preferred 3-4-2-1 system. The Blues ultimately won 3-1.
Jamie Gittens showed positive signs by scoring goals, beginning to prove the value of his £53 million price tag after an unsuccessful season plagued by injuries.
Next up was Liam Delap – the striker who scored a mere 3 goals in 47 appearances last season (with only 1 in thePremier League) – who also got his name on the scoresheet.
Finally, the 1.95m tall newcomer Emmanuel Emegha scored on his debut after transferring from Strasbourg.
The match also featured a host of Cobham academy talents such as Landon Emenalo, Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli, Reggie Walsh, Ryan Kavuma-McQueen, Genesis Antwi, Reggie Watson, Calvin Diakite, and especially 17-year-old newcomer Dastan Satpayev — a Kazakhstan international who has scored 16 league goals and 4 goals in the UEFA Champions League.
A dominant victory against Bromley
Continuing their momentum, Chelsea thrashed EFL League One side Bromley 3-0 at Cobham in a game where they completely dominated.
Xabi Alonso maintained the 4-2-3-1 formation and continued to give young defender Landon Emenalo a starting spot. Strikers Jamie Gittens and Emmanuel Emegha once again found the net. The remaining goal was scored by Joao Pedro – Chelsea's top scorer last season.
This match marked the return and integration of key players such as Cole Palmer and goalkeeper Robert Sanchez. In addition, Alonso continued to give young talents from the bench the opportunity to gain experience.
Chelsea enters the new season with high expectations. Photo: Getty Images.
Tour of Australia, South Asia and Southeast Asia
Currently, the entire Chelsea team has flown to Sydney to begin their summer tour, before playing their opening Premier League match away against city rivals Fulham on August 24th.
The touring squad boasts a quality lineup including Cole Palmer, Estevao Willian, Romeo Lavia, Filip Jorgensen, Wesley Fofana, Levi Colwill, along with young talents on trial.
In Sydney, Chelsea will face Western Sydney Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur, before traveling to Hong Kong to take on Italian giants Juventus .
After that, The Blues will fly to Jakarta to face AC Milan and conclude their Asian tour with a match against Johor Darul Ta'zim in Malaysia .
To complete their final preparations, Chelsea will return to Stamford Bridge to host LaLiga representatives Real Sociedad, before officially beginning their cup campaign in the 2026/27 season.
According to Football