Xabi Alonso believes the Blues have put our extra time at the training ground to good use during the international break to prepare for the difficult challenge he knows we will face when Bournemouth come to Stamford Bridge.
After a three-week break due to the new international calendar introduced for 2026/27, the Premier League returns this weekend with Chelsea hosting Bournemouth in a 3pm kick-off on Saturday.
The Cherries are winless in the league this season, but their only defeats have come against Manchester City and Liverpool. Bournemouth’s performances have also arguably merited more than the three points they have won, and they showed their threat with a 2-1 victory away at Real Sociedad in their opening UEFA Europa League fixture.
Our manager certainly won’t be underestimating Marco Rose’s side and has been using the time off from matches during the international break to prepare.
‘It will be a tough test,’ said Alonso, when asked for his opinion on our next opponents in his pre-match press conference on Friday.
‘It will be so intense, a high-tempo game and very demanding. They have a clear idea of what they do with Marco and previously with Andoni [Iraola].
‘The core of the team is the same and every time you have to play Bournemouth it’s tough. But we play at home, and we want and need a win. So we are getting ready for tomorrow.
‘We’ve had time for everything, to analyse what we have done in the games and what is coming. We have been working with some players, recovering some players, we’ve used the time properly for that, and getting ready for Bournemouth tomorrow.’
The Blues are looking to get back to winning ways after going into the international break off a defeat at Brentford as the momentum from our strong start to the season took a hit.
However, Alonso underlined that it is still a work in progress at this early stage in his tenure, with the most important thing being that the team continues to learn and improve from every game.
‘It’s going to take time. How long? We’ll keep checking,’ Alonso added.
‘We need to keep improving, keep on learning, be in the process to be competitive, be good, learn how to read the moments and adapt to situations.
‘It’s part of the process and the feeling is that from each game we are learning things, but we need to make sure we don’t make the same mistakes again, knowing that each game is tough.’