Seesaw draw in Malaysia gives Xabi Alonso food for thought at Chelsea

From the publisher

Chelsea’s problems mounted as their pre-season tour came to an end in a strangely fiery draw against the Malaysian champions Johor Darul Ta’zim. The omens do not look promising with a bloated choice of forwards, echoes of their inexperience and indiscipline last season, and fewer than two weeks for the new manager, Xabi Alonso, to reintegrate key players and work with the entirety of his squad before they kick off the Premier League season against Fulham – managed by his old friend Álvaro Arbeloa – on 24 August. Alonso, tasked with transforming a club that finished 10th in the Premier League last season into Champions League qualifiers, made 11 changes…

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