The Star E-dition

ALONSO’S RISE AT CHELSEA IMPRESSIVE

A year ago Marcos Alonso looked a near certainty to leave Chelsea. He was a bit-part player for the Blues under Frank Lampard. His defensive output was blasted all over the place, with many feeling that he should move on.

The Spaniard’s game time increased at the end of last season after Thomas Tuchel was appointed as Chelsea boss, but the consensus remained that he should be offloaded.

One could say that Tuchel and Alonso are a match made in heaven.

The German manager enjoys playing his wing-backs high up the field, and this is something that benefits Alonso, whose biggest strength is his attacking ability, not his defensive output. This now allows him to flourish as he can orchestrate attacks.

Now, suddenly, Alonso finds himself as one of the top performers in the Blues starting XI, and is definitely deserving of his place week in, week out.

He was given some luck and a new lease of life due to Ben Chilwell’s recent personal struggles. Chilwell was ahead of Alonso in the pecking order, but in lieu of his problems, the latter was handed opportunities this season - and he has made the most of them. Even when Chilwell returns to full match fitness, Alonso will now be deservedly ahead of him.

In addition to his superb defensive output, Alonso has even registered a goal and an assist. His world-class contribution is not unexpected.

His abilities were always known and a big reason why Chelsea opted to sign him from Fiorentina in 2016.

The one thing that the 30-yearold Alonso has struggled with is consistency, but he now appears to have solved that problem.

Most recently, Alonso caused torment to the Tottenham defence last weekend as he made Nuno Espirito Santo’s men look ordinary and gave them a dose of reality after they had made a good start to the season.

While Romelu Lukaku has justifiably attracted a lot of praise for Chelsea’s impressive early-season form, the contributions and output of Alonso have been equally as important and must not be forgotten.

Another thing that has been particularly impressive about Alonso has been his dogged determination. He has no boyhood link to Chelsea and so many players who were in his position a year ago would have simply given up and in some cases, thrown a tantrum in order to force through a move.

Subjected to heavy criticism by fans and pundits alike, Alonso has also been mentally strong to work his way back firmly into the Chelsea first-team plans and, impressively, usurped Chilwell in the pecking order.

Right now, Alonso should be in the Chelsea starting line-up in each and every game while the team is high in confidence.

Given that the league is a marathon and not a race, the Blues statistically will probably end up losing games this season, and there may be games in which they will need to defend more than attack. It is for these games that Chilwell’s expertise may be needed more than Alonso’s.

Sport

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2021-09-25T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-09-25T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://thestar.pressreader.com/article/282565906288571

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