Xabi Alonso says Chelsea must be prepared to adapt their style as Morgan Rogers targets his competitive debut against Fulham in the Premier League opener at Craven Cottage on Monday.
Rogers joined Chelsea from Aston Villa in a £117m move this summer, becoming the club’s latest arrival and following Alonso to Stamford Bridge. The 24-year-old scored on his unofficial debut in last weekend’s friendly win over Real Sociedad.
The England international’s arrival has prompted questions about how he will fit into Alonso’s plans. Chelsea have traditionally favoured a possession-based approach, while Rogers played in a more direct Villa side. There has also been speculation about how he will combine with Cole Palmer, with the two players sharing several characteristics, including the “Cold Palmer” celebration.
Rogers said last week that he was “relishing” the chance to link up with his England team-mate. Alonso, speaking before Monday’s west London derby, said both he and his players would need to respond to the demands of each match rather than follow one fixed method.
“When we need to have good control, I think Morgan can do it. Our game is whatever it takes. So when we have to do transition, we will do transition. All the rest of the players, they need to understand what it takes because this is to be competitive.
“You have a plan, you have an idea, you have a style, but sometimes the game demands something different. Are you able to adapt to that and to be competitive in that momentum as well? If we are able to understand that and to do that, we will win more games.
“We tend to, more than in one specific picture, to have principles when we are moving around the pitch. And those can be in one formation or a different formation. We have players who have enough flexibility to play in different ones. So that gives us possibilities to prepare with our own identity.”
Alonso also faces the challenge of restoring Palmer to his best after the forward found the past two seasons more difficult than his outstanding first campaign in London. The new Chelsea manager said he was already learning how to work with the club’s number 10.
“Different players need different connections and Cole, for sure, he’s very analytical,” Alonso said. “I think that he’s smart.
“You need to give him his space to connect, but I’m really enjoying it because he’s top-talented and with little, he understands a lot so it’s been very interesting.”
Another major talking point during Chelsea’s pre-season has been Alonso’s use of a three-man defence. He deployed that system during Bayer Leverkusen’s unbeaten domestic season in 2023/24, although he moved away from it at Real Madrid.
The Spaniard has returned to the formation during the final weeks of preparation for his first season at Chelsea, but does not intend to commit permanently to one shape. Instead, he believes building the team’s character and unity will be more important than any tactical setup.
“Lots of teams play three at the back in certain parts of the game. You see each team has to be so sophisticated to prepare for each game and know what they’re going to do because each team, they prepare so well.
“But above the football qualities, above the tactics, for me it’s the soul of the team, the team spirit. We are able to connect, to have this good energy that we share.
“This is a process, it’s not one day you create that, but we start feeling it and we start enjoying it. That will be for me the strongest force and strength of this team.
“When you focus on one thing, you tend to improve those things. When you don’t focus that much, maybe those things are not important. But for me, this is very important. This is a process, it takes time, but I’m sure that what we started will get better with the games.”
Fulham v Chelsea is live on Monday Night Football from 18:30 on Monday, with kick-off at 20:00.
