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Seesaw draw in Malaysia gives Xabi Alonso food for thought at Chelsea

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Delap scores twice from spot in 3-3 draw with JDTManager made 11 changes against Malaysian championsChelsea’s problems mounted as their pre-season tour came to an end in a strangely fiery draw against the Malaysian champions Johor Darul Ta’zim. A bloated choice of forwards, echoes of their inexperience and indiscipline last season, and fewer than two weeks for the new manager, Xabi Alonso, to reintegrate key players and work with the entirety of his squad before they kick off the Premier...

  • Delap scores twice from spot in 3-3 draw with JDT

  • Manager made 11 changes against Malaysian champions

Chelsea’s problems mounted as their pre-season tour came to an end in a strangely fiery draw against the Malaysian champions Johor Darul Ta’zim. A bloated choice of forwards, echoes of their inexperience and indiscipline last season, and fewer than two weeks for the new manager, Xabi Alonso, to reintegrate key players and work with the entirety of his squad before they kick off the Premier League season against Fulham – managed by his old friend Álvaro Arbeloa – on 24 August.

Alonso, tasked with transforming a club that finished 10th in the Premier League last season into Champions League qualifiers in just six weeks, made 11 changes for the friendly against JDT. He rested players after beating Milan with a strong lineup only 24 hours earlier, 600 miles away.

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Seesaw (PERSON) Malaysia (LOCATION) Xabi Alonso (PERSON) Chelsea Delap (PERSON) Malaysian (ORG) Johor Darul (PERSON) the Premier League (ORG) Fulham (ORG) Álvaro Arbeloa (PERSON) Alonso (PERSON) Champions League (ORG) Milan (LOCATION)
Originally published by The Guardian UK Read original →