Alonso’s Chelsea honeymoon shattered by 3-0 loss at Brentford

LONDON, Sept 18 : Chelsea coach Xabi Alonso will be relieved that the international break now gives him three weeks of respite to fix his team who, after a 3-0 defeat at Brentford on Friday, have conceded 12 goals in their five opening Premier League games.

The season began brightly with wins over Fulham and Brighton & Hove Albion, prompting talk of Alonso turning Chelsea into possible title contenders after his move to Stamford Bridge in July.

But there were warning signs in those early wins as Chelsea let in five goals over the 180 minutes. A subsequent 2-1 defeat at Arsenal, a 2-2 home draw against Hull City last weekend and Friday’s hammering by Brentford have ruined Alonso’s honeymoon.

The Spaniard said his players were proving unable to keep their focus throughout matches and needed to show more consistency and fighting mentality.

“It’s about 95 minutes. We have not been able to keep that level throughout these few games in the start of the season, and it’s something that we have to do better,” Alonso told reporters.

“We know that it’s a process, that it’s still (only) five games, and in a competitive Premier League, that each game is really hard.”

Alonso will be hoping for good news from his medical team before Chelsea’s next game, at home against Bournemouth on October 10. 

Midfield lynchpin Moises Caicedo, who typically provides a screen for the defence, has played only 14 minutes so far this season and Italy defender Marco Palestra has not featured at all since he moved to London over the summer.

In-form Brazil striker Joao Pedro was conspicuous by his absence on Friday.

But Chelsea fans will be wondering how the other members of their expensively assembled team were largely outplayed by Brentford in the second half of Friday’s encounter after a goalless first half.

Goals from Jaidon Anthony, Igor Thiago and substitute Fabio Carvalho showed how the Bees have gone from strength to strength since Keith Andrews took over as coach in 2025 and they are unbeaten so far this campaign.

“I felt there was a performance bubbling. I just could see that in the players’ eyes last couple of days,” Andrews told reporters. “The approach has been really focused and I thought in the second half in particular we showed exactly what we are.”

(Writing by William Schomberg; editing by Clare Fallon)