Chelsea's switch to Xabi Alonso's 3-4-2-1 was the main story against AC Milan. Joao Pedro scored twice, Moisés Caicedo volleyed in from a corner routine in the 50th minute, and Chelsea scored again 30 seconds after the restart. It was pre-season, but the shape looked settled quickly.

Alonso's shape change

Tom Gott's read was blunt enough: “Saturday’s game brought the introduction of the 3-4-2-1 that served him so well at Bayer Leverkusen.” That structure gave Chelsea more control between the lines and more speed once they won the ball back. The first thing that stood out was how quickly they punished Milan after half-time.

Joao Pedro’s brace came in the space Chelsea created around him, not from isolated scraps. Cole Palmer, Pedro Neto and Danny Welbeck were all part of the wider attacking cast mentioned around the game, but the decisive edge came from Pedro and Caicedo. Chelsea also scored twice from corners, which lines up with the set-piece work that has been visible under Alonso.

Marco Palestra on the left

One of the less expected details was Marco Palestra starting on the left side of Chelsea's midfield and repeatedly pushing forward. That role fits the broader picture of a side trying to build pressure through wide access points, not just central combinations. It also gave Chelsea another runner into advanced areas while Milan were still resetting.

Tom Gott's second line captured the other obvious thread: “Much has been made of Chelsea’s acquisition of set-piece coach Austin MacPhee, who will be delighted to have seen the Blues net twice from corners here.” Milan did not help themselves by changing heavily at half-time, with Ruben Amorim making eight changes, and their earlier line-up had already been altered in the first half. They arrived with only one win in their previous five competitive matches, so the defeat sat inside a patchy run rather than looking like a one-off.

The cleaner takeaway is that Chelsea already look comfortable in the new shape. The second-half tempo, the corner routines and the way Pedro and Caicedo finished their chances all pointed the same way, and that is more useful than any friendly scoreline on its own.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 7 outlets. How we work →