LONDON, Aug 30 : It’s early days but the joy of football appears to have returned to Stamford Bridge. After two Premier League victories and a League Cup win in the last week, Chelsea players look like they are having fun, despite some nervy moments in defence. Chelsea talisman Cole Palmer, who spent much of last season struggling for form and battling injury, scored a sumptuous fourth goal in Chelsea’s frenetic 4-3 victory over Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday and his broad grin matched the mood of the team and the stadium.The London side produced some glorious, flowing attacking football to race to a 3-0 lead 32 minutes into the game with goals from Romeo Lavia – his first for the club he joined in 2023 – Pedro Neto and Joao Pedro.
It was such a contrast from last spring, when heads were down and fans subdued. Palmer and Joao Pedro, who had been considered shoo-ins to play at the World Cup earlier in the season, failed to make it into the England and Brazil squads respectively for the tournament.On Sunday Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti sat beside England coach Thomas Tuchel at Stamford Bridge and both former Chelsea bosses watched their international hopefuls' demeanour transformed. Chelsea finished 10th last season after coach Enzo Maresca left on New Year’s Day and his successor Liam Rosenior lasted less than four months. They limped to the end of the season and an FA Cup final defeat under interim coach Calum McFarlane.But the appointment of former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso, who managed Leverkusen and Real Madrid, has breathed new life into the squad, reinforced by some shrewd signings such as forward Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa, who scored in Chelsea’s 3-2 season opener at Fulham last Monday and produced an assist for Neto on Sunday.Pumped up fans sang Alonso's name on Sunday after unfurling a banner proclaiming that he was “Not Too Xabi”.WORK TO DOThere is still a lot of work to do, particularly at the back. Chelsea have not kept a clean sheet in the league for 18 games and after their blistering start managed to ship goals from 20-year-old Malick Yalcouye, a Joao Pedro effort into his own net and a 96th-minute Pascal Gross header.Alonso said his team would learn to manage the ebb and flow of the game better, enjoying the “good moments” and correcting the bad ones. They will be bolstered by newly arrived Argentina goalkeeper Emi Martinez, who was called upon more often than his Brighton counterpart Bart Verbruggen and made key saves as the visitors grew in confidence in the second half.“He is a World Cup winner ... experienced,” Alonso said, adding that Martinez had said he felt ready to play, despite a quickly completed move from Aston Villa. “He has been in the building 48 hours... day by day we will feel his presence because he has this charisma, this aura to influence and have a very positive connection.”Martinez said it was not a perfect game but "winning and moving on is what we need.""The front three is amazing. When we go forward, we can hurt teams. We had a lot of chances to finish the game. Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro had chances to kill the game. At the back, we need to bring the goals down."Last season’s first-choice goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, who played against Fulham, is likely to be looking for a new club before the window closes next Tuesday after too many error-prone performances.He did not appear on the squad list on Sunday, nor did Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez, who could move to Manchester City before the deadline if the clubs can agree terms.
