By Rufai Abdulbasit Adeyinka
Chelsea under Xabi Alonso have significantly improved since the 2026/27 season began. After finishing 10th last season, and after the club dismissed Liam Rosenior following a six-match losing run, the Blues have returned to the Premier League conversation as potential title rivals, with Alonso’s combination-based attacking strategy at the centre of it.
Since the campaign kicked off, Chelsea have lined up in a 3-4-2-1 formation and punished several opponents with it. Alonso arrived with a great record, at Bayer Leverkusen, he won the Bundesliga in 2023/24, the DFB-Pokal that season and the 2024 German Super Cup.
His attacking trio of Morgan Rogers, Cole Palmer and João Pedro set the tone on the opening day. After Chelsea’s 3-2 win at Fulham on 24 August 2026, Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher said the three were “as good as anything in the Premier League right now”. Rogers, signed from Aston Villa this summer, scored on his debut.
By Gameweek Six, the trio had combined for 18 goal contributions. Pedro led with eight (five goals and three assists), ahead of Rogers and Palmer on five each (Rogers with four goals and one assist, Palmer with two goals and three assists). Pedro’s eight led the Premier League at that point, and the three players scored 11 of Chelsea’s 15 league goals.
WHAT THE OPENING SIX MATCHES REVEAL
Alonso’s 3-4-2-1 has produced goals, contrary to what the experience of Manchester United’s former head coach, Ruben Amorim, with a back three might have suggested. United sacked Amorim, who preferred a 3-4-3, on 5 January 2026 after 25 wins in 63 games, and Sky Sports reported that Gary Neville was stunned by how poorly United played in that system.
Chelsea’s early results suggest the formation can work. Nevertheless, it remains pertinent to examine the matches Chelsea did not win.
Chelsea won three of their first six Premier League matches, drew one and lost two. They beat Fulham, Brighton and Bournemouth, drew with Hull and lost to Arsenal and Brentford.
The Blues scored 15 goals in those six matches and conceded 13. Football365 reported that the 15 was the third-highest total in the league, while the 13 matched the league’s highest. That contrast raises a question about whether the system can sustain a title challenge over a whole season, and Alonso has asked it himself. After the Hull draw, he said Chelsea were “attacking better than defending”.
WHERE THE SYSTEM IS VULNERABLE
Chelsea’s first setback came at Arsenal in their third league game. Rogers gave the Blues the lead inside two minutes on 6 September 2026, but the defending champions won 2-1 through goals from Kai Havertz and Martin Ødegaard.
Read alongside the 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge with Hull City on 12 September 2026, that defeat suggests the trio can face resistance against organised opponents.
Hull, promoted last season through the Championship play-offs, had been unbeaten in their first three league matches, and Leadership reported that they “defended stubbornly” and threatened on the counter-attack. Mohamed Belloumi scored twice in the first half, and Pedro scored Chelsea’s second goal in the 66th minute.
Similarly, the 3-0 defeat at Brentford on 18 September 2026 raised the question of what happens when one of the trio is missing. Pedro withdrew from Brazil’s squad with a knee injury and did not play, and captain Reece James and Moisés Caicedo were also unavailable. Alonso refused to use Pedro’s absence as an excuse for Chelsea managing only two shots on target.
The numbers still make the point. Pedro played five of Chelsea’s first six league matches. Chelsea scored 15 goals in those five and none at Brentford, the first team to stop them scoring this season, according to Fantasy Football Scout.
Relying on a 3-4-2-1 in the modern Premier League requires effective attackers, and Chelsea have shown they have them. However, when opponents deny those attackers clear chances, or the attackers fail to convert, Chelsea may struggle to keep control of matches. If the defensive transitions are poorly organised, opponents can exploit the space left behind and punish the Blues on the counter-attack.
Chelsea had conceded 12 goals in their first five league matches before the Bournemouth game. But they have since answered part of that question. They won 5-1 against Bournemouth on 10 October 2026, with Pedro and Jordan Henderson each scoring twice, according to Opta.
On Saturday, they won 2-0 at Everton, where Pedro Neto scored both goals in the second half, at a ground where Chelsea had won once in their previous nine league visits, Football365 reported. The win gave Chelsea their first clean sheet in nine months, according to NBC Sports, although Alonso said the team needed many more.
THE ROLE OF MIDFIELD AND DEFENSIVE DEPTH
The 3-4-2-1 asks the midfield to resist pressure, recover possession and protect the defence when attacks break down. If the midfield cannot do that, the back three can be exposed to quick transitions and direct attacks.
The absence of a key attacker also raises questions about squad depth. A title challenge requires more than an effective starting eleven; it requires enough quality across the squad to hold performance levels when important players are unavailable. Chelsea made 11 signings for £349 million and sold 17 players this summer, according to Reuters, so Alonso is still shaping the group that must answer that question.
WHAT TITLE-WINNING TEAMS CAN TEACH CHELSEA
Premier League titles have been won in different ways, so the clearest comparison is in the numbers. Manchester City won the 2021/22 title with 99 goals scored and 26 conceded, a goal difference of +73. Arsenal won the 2025/26 title with 71 goals scored, 27 conceded and a goal difference of +44, one goal below Liverpool’s +45 in 2024/25.
Both champions conceded fewer than one goal a match on average, as City’s 26 and Arsenal’s 27 came over 38 games. Chelsea have conceded 13 in seven matches, an average of 1.9.
Winning the Premier League does not depend solely on how often a team scores. It also depends on how well the team controls matches, protects its defence and responds when it loses the ball. A productive attacking unit, however good, may struggle to win the title if opponents can repeatedly exploit its defensive weaknesses.
Chelsea’s history shows that a back three can succeed in the Premier League. The club’s last league title, in 2016/17 under Antonio Conte, came with a 3-4-3 formation that Conte adopted after switching from a back four following a 3-0 loss at Arsenal in September 2016. That team scored 85 goals and conceded 33, a goal difference of +52, so it conceded fewer than one goal a match.
The problem, therefore, is not necessarily the formation itself. It may lie in the players’ adaptation to the system, their tactical discipline, their ability to carry out the manager’s instructions, and the creativity and defensive organisation across the team.
CAN CHELSEA SUSTAIN A TITLE CHALLENGE?
Chelsea have an attack that has scored 15 goals in six matches and won at Everton, but their title ambitions will depend on whether they can balance that with greater defensive stability. Seven matches in, the evidence points both ways: 13 goals conceded, and one clean sheet.
Chelsea may need reinforcements in midfield and possibly defence to compete in the title race. However, recruitment alone may not solve the problem. Tactical adjustments, better coordination between midfield and defence, and adequate cover for injured attackers could also prove decisive. The January transfer window will give the club another chance to strengthen the squad, if Alonso and the club’s hierarchy consider it necessary.
Chelsea’s next Premier League match is at home to Tottenham Hotspur, and it will show whether the Everton performance was a turning point or a one-off.
Do you think Chelsea can lift the Premier League title this season?