Chelsea's new head coach Xabi Alonso has openly acknowledged that his side's defensive issues remain a work in progress after a 2-2 draw that once again saw the Blues squander an early lead through individual errors at the back.
Chelsea had started brightly against Hull, moving in front before conceding twice in quick succession to fall behind 2-1 at the interval. Both goals came courtesy of Mohamed Belloumi, who punished a mistake from young defender Jorrel Hato for his opener, as a routine ball bounced awkwardly over the Dutchman's head and allowed the Algerian forward to finish past goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez. Chelsea recovered after the break, with Joao Pedro scoring the equaliser to salvage a point for the hosts.
Hato did not reappear for the second half, with Alonso opting to bring on Pep Chavarria in his place. The Spanish coach was quick to clarify that the substitution was tactical rather than a response to any knock, explaining that he wanted a different type of player on the pitch. "We wanted a player with another profile. Pep is different, that was the decision," Alonso said.
The result continues a theme that has defined the early part of Chelsea's season under Alonso. The club has developed a reputation as one of the most free-scoring and entertaining teams in the Premier League, having been involved in 19 goals across their opening four league fixtures. However, that attacking spectacle has come hand in hand with defensive vulnerability, with Chelsea's back line repeatedly needing rescuing by their forwards.
Alonso struck a wry tone when discussing the pattern, telling reporters he looks forward to a day when he can walk into a press conference and simply call the match dull. "I hope one day you will [come to the post-match press conference] and say it was a boring game," he joked. He then turned serious, admitting that Saturday's events were symptomatic of a recurring issue. "[This result] repeats patterns we are making. It will take time to fix them," he said.
The head coach was particularly critical of how his side handled the situation after taking the lead, insisting that discipline must be maintained rather than allowing opponents back into matches. "When we get the lead, you still need to be competing, and not to give chances so easily for them to come back," he said. Referring specifically to Hato's mistake, Alonso added that Chelsea had been building momentum before the concession shifted the tone of the contest. "Especially the first goal, we can do much better. It was too soft to give them this goal, because then we were controlling, we were creating chances, and that momentum we had changed the mood and the score of the game."
Alonso stressed that the issue needs urgent attention going forward. "It is something we need to be talking [about] and need to address. It has had an impact on our performances," he said.
When asked directly whether his defence was currently his primary concern, Alonso did not shy away from the topic, calling for greater unity and intensity when protecting leads. "We can do better. We need to know that even when we have the lead, a very important part of the game is to hold together, keep the distances, to go intense in the situations to defend, and I am sure we can do better," he said.
He also warned that Chelsea cannot afford lapses in concentration against any opponent in the division, regardless of reputation. "We need to be aware that in any situation, any team in the Premier League can hurt you. Today it was from a long ball, two bounces, the way it happened, you need to be very aware," Alonso said, before adding a final caution to his squad: "You have to be ready. The danger can come from any situation. If you are soft, you are not prepared, you will be punished, and today we were punished."
Based on reporting from standard-football.