{"id":470,"date":"2026-08-05T17:15:31","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T17:15:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/footballars.xyz\/?p=470"},"modified":"2026-08-05T17:15:31","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T17:15:31","slug":"juventus-manager-luciano-spalletti-explains-why-xabi-alonsos-chelsea-are-already-a-top-side","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/footballars.xyz\/?p=470","title":{"rendered":"Juventus manager Luciano Spalletti explains why Xabi Alonso’s Chelsea are already a top side"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Luciano Spalletti has been very complimentary of Chelsea despite his Juventus team beating them 1-0 in a pre-season friendly.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Xabi Alonso<\/a> put out quite a strong XI in the first half, with new signing Danny Welbeck starting alongside Joao Pedro<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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However, despite having two very good Premier League<\/a> strikers on the pitch, Chelsea<\/a> were still unable to score and went on to lose the game.<\/p>\n

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Thoughts after another pre-season defeat under Xabi Alonso?\ud83e\udd14<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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Luciano Spalletti claims Xabi Alonso\u2019s Chelsea can do everything<\/h2>\n

According to Spalletti, Alonso has a Chelsea team<\/a> capable of doing everything, including starting attacks from the back.<\/p>\n

Speaking in his post-match press conference, which has been shared by Juventus\u2019 official club website<\/a>, the Italian said: \u201cChelsea can do it all: they can build from the back, they can finish, and they can really drive the game forward in terms of tempo and pace. They\u2019re a top-class side.\u201d<\/p>\n

We did not see all of that during the game, but there were some positives for Alonso to take away. For example, summer signing Geovany Quenda was very promising.<\/p>\n

The Portuguese winger caused a lot of problems on the right before being taken off. Marco Palestra, a player who will be familiar to Spalletti and Italian football, also impressed.<\/p>\n

In fact, Palestra was arguably Chelsea\u2019s top performer against Juventus<\/a>. He will be looking to push Reece James and Malo Gusto for a starting spot this upcoming season.<\/p>\n

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Where Chelsea need to improve under Xabi Alonso<\/h2>\n

Not too many Chelsea fans will be reading much into Spalletti\u2019s praise. After all, this is a Chelsea side who nearly finished in the bottom half of the Premier League<\/a> table last term.<\/p>\n

There is much room for improvement, particularly in defence. It is only pre-season, but the Blues have not looked convincing in that area of the pitch at all.<\/p>\n

Hopefully once Reece James returns and Maxence Lacroix is integrated into the team things will improve. <\/p>\n

The Club World Cup<\/a> holders have made some good signings this summer, but the team are still not where they need to be. Alonso is a quality coach, though, and should be able to get Chelsea back on the right track again. <\/p>\n

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