Chelsea vs AC Milan: Alonso's Team Aims to Stop the Slide in Jakarta
Chelsea, still rubbing the bruise from midweek defeat in Hong Kong, walk into Jakarta on Saturday with a very different objective: stop the slide, sharpen the edges, and look like a team ready for the Premier League again.
AC Milan await at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, the first leg of a demanding 24-hour double-header that will also take in Johor Darul Ta'zim in Malaysia on Sunday. It is pre-season, yes. But the clock is ticking loudly now for Xabi Alonso.
Alonso seeks a response
Two weeks out from the new campaign, Chelsea’s summer has split into two clear chapters. Three straight wins over Crawley, Bromley and Western Sydney Wanderers had the tour rolling nicely. Then came the jolt.
First, a stoppage-time punch from 10-man Tottenham in Australia. Then a 1-0 defeat to Juventus in Hong Kong, settled by a superb second-half strike from Kosovo winger Edon Zhegrova at Kai Tak Stadium. Back-to-back losses under a new manager are never ideal, no matter the context.
Alonso will not panic. But he will want to see a different tone in Jakarta: more control, more conviction, fewer soft edges at the back.
The positive for him is that the squad is finally close to full strength. The World Cup absentees are back, the travel legs are easing, and this Milan fixture offers the chance to put something like a first-choice side on the pitch.
Mudryk back in the spotlight
The Juventus game revolved around one man: Mykhailo Mudryk. His return, after resolving anti-doping disciplinary proceedings with the FA, dominated the narrative more than the result itself.
Now the Ukrainian steps into a different kind of spotlight. He is firmly in the shop window, with several clubs monitoring him for a loan move, and Jakarta could bring his first Chelsea start since November 2024. For a player whose Chelsea story has never quite settled, this feels like another crossroads.
If Alonso does go strong, Mudryk has a clear lane to stake a claim: either as a revived weapon for Chelsea or as a showcase for would‑be suitors.
No.1 debate and defensive worries
At the other end of the pitch, a quieter but crucial battle is unfolding. Robert Sanchez returned from injury against Juventus, yet his grip on the No1 shirt is far from secure. Young Belgian goalkeeper Mike Penders is pushing hard, and Jakarta may offer the clearest clue yet about Alonso’s thinking.
Who starts against Milan? That choice will echo beyond pre-season.
Defensively, Chelsea have looked uncertain under the new regime. Alonso can point to one obvious reason: he has rarely been able to field a settled back line. Constant rotation and fitness issues have left the unit disjointed, and the errors have followed.
That is why Levi Colwill’s return matters so much. The England defender, who missed most of last season with an anterior cruciate ligament injury, was not risked on the patchy surface in midweek, nor was Cole Palmer. Both decisions were described as precautionary. Both players are expected to be in contention for minutes this weekend.
Colwill’s presence offers something Chelsea have lacked this summer: continuity and calm on the left side of defence. If he starts, Alonso can finally begin to sketch out a back four that might actually resemble his opening-day selection.
A teenager grabs his chance
Results in July and August can mislead, but performances rarely lie. Amid the inconsistency, Alonso has already unearthed one major plus: Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli.
The 16-year-old midfielder, born in Sydney and capped by England at youth level, earned his first senior start against Juventus and did not look out of place. More than that, he was trusted. Alonso picked him ahead of Romeo Lavia and Dario Essugo to partner Moises Caicedo in midfield – a clear show of faith in a Cobham graduate still in his teens.
That decision said as much about the manager as the player. Alonso is prepared to lean on youth if they prove they can handle it. Nicoll-Jazuli has done exactly that so far.
Geovany Quenda, the £40million winger from Sporting, also offered a spark in an otherwise flat display. At 19, he already looks ready to contribute immediately, driving at defenders and injecting tempo into a team that badly needed it in Hong Kong. Jakarta gives him another stage, this time against heavyweight Serie A opposition.
Heavy legs, tight schedule, big calls
The schedule now bites. Two games, two countries, 24 hours. It is the kind of stretch that forces a manager to reveal his priorities.
Alonso is expected to go as close to full strength as possible against AC Milan, then lean on the wider squad against Johor Darul Ta'zim on Sunday. That means Jakarta is the dress rehearsal; Malaysia is the rotation.
The predicted XI reflects that intent: Penders in goal; a back four of Palestra, Wesley Fofana, Colwill and Jorrel Hato; Lavia and Caicedo anchoring midfield; Estevao, Palmer and Mudryk supporting Joao Pedro up front.
Colwill and Palmer remain listed as doubts, but only lightly so. Both were held back in Hong Kong due to the surface rather than any major concern, and Chelsea will hope to see them on the grass in Jakarta, even if not from the first whistle.
A different kind of test
AC Milan in Jakarta is not just another pre-season stop. It is a marker. A chance for Alonso to show that the Juventus defeat was a stumble, not a trend.
He needs a cleaner defensive performance, sharper combinations in attack, and signs that the spine of his team is starting to settle. He needs to see whether Mudryk can turn noise into end product, whether Penders or Sanchez can seize the gloves, and whether rising talents like Nicoll-Jazuli and Quenda can sustain their early promise against higher-level opposition.
Kick-off comes at 1pm BST on Saturday, under the heat and noise of one of Asia’s great arenas. The result will not define Chelsea’s season. But the patterns might.
With the Premier League looming and the experiments running out, how many more rehearsals can Alonso afford?
