Alonso’s Chelsea tactical concept delivers fluid central play, aggressive pressing and 111 Premier League goals in testing.
Xabi Alonso is the new Chelsea manager, arriving to replace the dismissed Liam Rosenior at the helm in West London.
Last season, Chelsea had three different head coaches, however, Xabi Alonso is aiming to calm the unrelenting cull of recent years and bring back the Premier League title to Stamford Bridge for the first time since 2017.
Alonso’s greatest reign, across his managerial career thus far, was undoubtedly his time in charge of Bayer Leverkusen, in which he guided the side to an inconceivable invincible league campaign in 23/24 - you can read my article and download my recreation of the tactics he used to achieve such success using this link.
Tactical Flexibility is Key
It may be relatively early days in Alonso’s reign at Stamford Bridge, however, the Spaniard is already pledging his tactical ideology, and it seems as though tactical flexibility will be a hallmark of Alonso’s Chelsea.
Across pre-season, Alonso used the 4-2-3-1 formation, the 4-3-3 formation, and even the 3-4-3 formation, displaying such a commitment to tactical flexibility.
As such, within this tactic file - upon downloading the file - you will be able to access my tactical concepts of each of those three formations.
Central Combinations and Penetrating the Middle - A Look into Alonso’s Principles
Across his managerial career thus far, a few key principles have emerged as crucial to the style of play Xabi Alonso implements at each club.
One of those is his ruthless commitment to playing through the middle, with central players encouraged to link up with one another to exert control through the heart of the pitch.
I dived deeper into this in my recreation of Alonso’s Leverkusen side, which you can read in the article linked above.
Another key principle of Alonso’s is the idea of forming a solid, dependable rest-defence.
This was a hallmark of his Leverkusen side, and it looks as though this idea will be paramount to his Chelsea side’s game too.
No matter the formation Chelsea have played in pre-season thus far, a rest-defence shape consisting of a 3-2 base has always remained.
This 3-2 base creates a solid structure that allows Alonso’s side to reliably and confidently retain and recycle possession, whilst also providing necessary defensive cover should the team lose the ball higher up the pitch.
This separation between possession and defensive structures is one of the major ideas behind Football Manager 2026’s tactical evolution.
Xabi Alonso’s Man-Marking Pressing Scheme
Alonso’s tactical ideas appear to have evolved since his time in charge of Bayer Leverkusen.
With the German club, Alonso would instruct his side to press the opposition from a compact 5-2-3 ‘high-block’.
However, in pre-season thus far, Alonso has implemented a more aggressive, high-pressing idea, with a man-marking approach at the forefront.
Now, when the opposition are building up, Chelsea will frequently close down the opposition from their initial ‘high-block’, before jumping to press in a man-to-man fashion.
An example of how this occurred against AC Milan, in the Blues’ 3-0 win, can be seen in the image below:
Let’s Break Down the Tactic
In Possession
In build-up, Xabi Alonso’s side has insisted on building up play in deep areas, with the ‘keeper typically distributing short - from here, Chelsea will look to play through the opposition’s high press.
Upon progressing beyond the build-up phase, there is a large emphasis placed on playing through the centre of the pitch with players linking up using intricate, cute passing moves before passing into the space for the frightening front three to attack into.
In general, Xabi’s side have been patient in pre-season, keeping the ball using short, slow passes.
To accompany this, as well as promote associative, combination play, I added the ‘Much Narrower’ instruction to create conditions akin to his majorly successful Leverkusen side.
I also added the ‘Be More Expressive’ instruction to encourage players to roam from their positions more often, in-line with the fluidity of Chelsea’s play in pre-season.
Out of Possession
Without the ball, Xabi has implemented a very intense and aggressive high-pressing model at the club, with an extreme idea of man-to-man marking a hallmark of this defensive strategy.
To supplement the aggressive, relentless high-press, Xabi Alonso has his defensive line hold a higher position to compact the space in midfield, whilst the team are asked to funnel play wide.
Finally, upon losing the ball, Chelsea will counter-press to try and instantly regain possession.
Opposition Instructions
Player Roles
Ball-Playing Goalkeeper | Sweeper Keeper
In pre-season, the ‘keeper has proven to be pivotal to Xabi Alonso’s system, moving higher to join the build-up phase to offer himself as a passing option and give Chelsea a numerical advantage in deeper areas.
I chose the ‘Sweeper Keeper’ role to ensure necessary sweeping coverage behind the team’s higher defensive line.
(DR) Inside Full-Back | Stopping Wide Centre-Back
Whilst Chelsea’s formation, on paper, is a 3-4-3, both wide centre-backs in the back-three will spread wider to create space for the ‘keeper to step up into.
However, the right-sided wide centre-back has, thus far, proven to be the more conservative of the two, mainly focusing on progressing play from deep alongside the central centre-back.
Without the ball, both wide centre-backs will readily step up or move wide to close down the opposition’s wingers or ‘10s’ in a 3-4-3 formation.
Ball-Playing Centre-Back | Centre-Back
The central centre-back, just like the right-sided wide centre-back, predominantly remains deeper to progress play from deep with line-breaking passes into players above them.
Without the ball, the central centre-back will tenaciously mark the opposition’s striker.
(DL) Inside Full-Back | Stopping Wide Centre-Back
The left-sided wide centre-back has typically been the more adventurous of the two, on the ball, as he’ll tend to also carry the ball forward to initiate attacking moves of his own accord.
Additionally, he will tend to move wider to create space for one of the double-pivot to situationally drop into.
(WBR) Advanced Wing-Back | Wing-Back
At right wing-back, thus far into Alonso’s reign at the club, the Spaniard has typically used a right-winger in this position, with Pedro Neto and Geovany Quenda both playing in this role.
As such, with both players being left-footed, I added the ‘Cut Inside With Ball’ instruction to this role.
Additionally, a regular pattern has emerged wherefrom the right wing-back will cut inside before whipping in a cross towards the far post - I acknowledged this in my choice of instruction ‘Cross Aim: Far Post’.
Without the ball, both wing-backs aggressively close down the opposition’s wing-backs.
(WBL) Advanced Wing-Back | Wing-Back
On the other side, the left wing-back is a lot more traditional, aiming to reach the byline to supply crosses and cut-backs.
Deep-Lying Playmaker | Defensive Midfielder
Of the double-pivot, the right-sided defensive midfielder is a little more adventurous in his movement, possessing the onus to drift forward to support attacks at times.
However, both players within the double-pivot will largely remain deeper to help form Xabi Alonso’s desired 3-2 base.
Without the ball, both midfielders will mark their opposing midfielders.
Half-Back | Defensive Midfielder
On the other side of the double-pivot, the left-sided defensive midfielder will tend to drop into the backline as the left-sided centre-back moves wider.
Advanced Playmaker | Attacking Midfielder
In the front three, Palmer’s role epitomises that of an ‘Advanced Playmaker’ as he’ll tend to drift from his position to readily receive the ball to initiate an attacking move.
Upon receiving the ball, he will take the ball on the half-turn before carrying forward before supplying for those around him.
Without the ball, all of the front three will mark the centre-backs directly ahead of them (AMCR -> DCL; STC -> DC; AMCL -> DCR).
Attacking Midfielder | Attacking Midfielder
Morgan Rogers’ role, on the other hand, has typically been more direct as he’ll often make runs in-behind the opposition’s defensive line.
He also possesses the onus to roam from his position - this, in conjunction with the freedom handed to Pedro and Palmer, creates a terrifying, fluid front three for Chelsea that will pose any team proper issues this season.
Upon receiving the ball, however, he has shown a tendency to hold up the play to favour quick, associative passing moves with Palmer and Pedro in close proximity.
False Nine | Centre Forward
Joao Pedro’s role, in this system, was quite difficult to pin down - however, I felt as though this role was as close to perfection as I could find.
Joao Pedro will often drop off the frontline to receive the ball to feet, whilst also being able to quickly run in-behind.
Additionally, he’ll tend to drift into the channels to be in closer proximity to Palmer and Rogers.
Results
Premier League
In testing with Chelsea on FM26, we ended up winning the Premier League, following one of the most intense title races I’ve played in on FM.
Of our 38 league games, we won 29 games, drew 6 games, and lost just 3 games, whilst scoring 111 goals (2.92 goals per game) and conceding 39 goals (1.02 goals per game).
However, the xG table suggested that we should have only conceded 30 goals this season.
Domestic Cups
In the Carabao Cup, we managed to make it to the Final - however, Manchester City promptly ended our dreams of a domestic treble, as they defeated us 3-1 at Wembley.
On our way to the Final, we defeated the likes of Arsenal (2-3 AGG), Nottingham Forest (0-2), and Bournemouth (1-3).
We did, however, manage to win a domestic double, as we overcame Aston Villa 1-4 to win the FA Cup!
On our way to Wembley, again, we defeated the likes of Brighton (2-0), Man City (1-1 P), and Man Utd (0-2).
Conclusion
For the first time since Thomas Tuchel, in 2022, Chelsea have a truly elite, world-renowned manager at the helm, and the signs are looking just as exciting as the prospect of such.
Whilst pre-season displayed turbulence, Chelsea have won their opening two games of the Premier League season as I write this, and their new-look frontline is already torturing Premier League defences.
The feeling is good around Cobham, at this stage, and - with no European football - there is no reason why Chelsea can’t mount their first proper title challenge since 2016/17.
If you want a taste of this beautiful tactic, make sure to download the tactic using the link attached to this article and make sure to follow FM Blog (@fmbIog) and myself (@AshtonGgmu) on our respective socials.
I hope you have enjoyed this article, and I wish you much success with this tactic on your saves! Thanks for reading!
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