Only Tottenham (28) have created more changes than Chelsea (24) in the Premier League this season.
In the early part of the campaign, they at least had a settled and exciting front three of Joao Pedro, Rogers and Palmer.
It was largely the reason behind the positive start to the season despite failing to keep a clean sheet against top-flight opposition until Alonso’s eighth game in charge.
With Caicedo injured, they suffered problems in midfield and continued to make changes from match to match, while also experimenting with personnel to fix the defence.
However, they largely looked on course to emulate the back-three system Alonso excelled with during his historic German double-winning season at Bayer Leverkusen in 2023-24.
As Caicedo returned after the international break, however, captain Reece James was injured.
Joao Pedro featured in wins against Bournemouth and Everton before sustaining a thigh injury, having already missed Brazil’s international matches.
Number one goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez broke his jaw in a collision at Everton, while Maxence Lacroix, who had been a near ever-present since joining from Crystal Palace in the summer, is expected to be out until January with a hamstring injury.
Defender Jorrel Hato has also suffered a setback in recent weeks.
It has left Alonso reacting to events when selecting his starting XI, with the Spaniard saying: “There are situations. Yesterday Josh [Acheampong] said he was not ready to play, so we are short of options and we need to walk through this step.
“Even when we win, when we lose, we miss some players that we have injured and for sure we are waiting for them to come back because they are important.”
He admitted his side were missing Joao Pedro, although supporters have also been frustrated that Estevao Willian, who came on at half-time on Sunday, has started only one league match this season.
Prior to Sunday’s game, Chelsea were averaging just 46% possession. They then dominated the ball at Sunderland (with 68.7% possession) but without creating many significant chances.
Meanwhile, only Crystal Palace have conceded more shots on target than Chelsea’s 50, while the Blues top the league with 53 shots on target – meaning there have been plenty of chances at both ends during their matches.
Alonso can still be pleased with Chelsea having collected five more points than they managed from the equivalent fixtures last season, with the club on course to qualify for the Champions League while sitting fifth in the table.
However, that is a low bar after a dismal campaign last season, when Chelsea finished 10th.
Going into the November international break, Alonso remains a long way from establishing a style of play, or an identity capable of bringing consistency – although he promised promising in an interview last week that Chelsea would be “different” and “better” by the end of the season.
