Chelsea were forced to turn to their first team attackers to get the job done against Leeds last night, and it’s not a good sign for the squad.
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Xabi Alonso spent most of last night’s press conference defending his players after a disappointing first half where Leeds went two goals up forced the coach into four half time changes.
He brought on four first team stars and the Blues’ new firepower proved too much for the away side. But this led to lots of awkward questions about whether the squad players were up to it.
Alonso takes the blame for Chelsea’s first half struggles
Alonso kept taking the blame himself, insisting that he hadn’t prepared the players who came in sufficiently well:
“I prefer not to take that cynical way [that the players in the first half aren’t good enough]. So, I prefer to to think that, and I know that, probably, I haven’t take the right decisions for them to show their best levels. So it’s something that I will analyse and learn from today.”
It’s an admirable stance, and one that will earn him a lot of credit with the players. But the reality was there for all to see, and it was as much about the players on the pitch as their preparation.
In other news…
The benefits of not playing European football are obvious – the problems are only now starting to make themselves clear.
Mike Penders’ double save against Leeds had everybody coo-ing, and rightly so. Every time he plays, he has to ramp up the pressure on Emi Martinez.
