The Rise of Marcos Alonso

Before his £24million move to Chelsea, you could have been forgiven for thinking Marcos Alonso quite an average player. His resume boasted no high profile names in Fiorentina, Bolton and Sunderland, and he had rarely given critics reason to question this with his performances.

So when he became one of the few signings Conte brought in for his debut season, a season in which Chelsea faced a challenge to regain a place in the top 4 after a dismal defence of their title, many were left with a few doubts – was he robust enough to put up with the likes of Harry Kane or Romelu Lukaku? The premier league is famous around the world for being a beautiful combination of technical flair and dogged aggression. Take Xherdan Shaqiri at Stoke for a perfect example. Would he be able to keep up?

At 6ft2, he is certainly tall for a wing back. While this may signal a greater aerial presence than most in his position, it usually comes at the expense of speed. This aspect would have been the most notable concern for many Chelsea fans, as it would inhibit both his offensive and defensive contribution.

His first season at Chelsea was by all accounts a strange one – he was indeed suspect on the back foot, and found it difficult to cope with the speed of the likes of Aguero and Walker. He was not the most assured in the tackle, and many opposing players were successful on many occasions in getting in behind.

However, it was offensively where Alonso would prove his worth. He was very comfortable on the ball, and rarely seemed to give away possession, even under the intense pressure of a high press. He stands tall when running with the ball, and is more than capable of picking out an incisive runner or cross-field pass. However his golden attribute would be one of the sweetest left foots I have ever seen. Whether it be crossing from a position out wide, driving into the box and taking a shot, or floating a free kick, the contact Alonso makes with the ball is magical.

His performance at Wembley yesterday proved these qualities, good and bad, beyond any doubt. Both Dembele and Trippier caused trouble when running at him, and he didn’t inspire the greatest feeling of stability in a makeshift back line.

When in possession however, he always looked comfortable and rarely gave the ball away cheaply. More importantly, he produced an unstoppable free-kick and the game winning goal in what was an extremely difficult match – let’s not forget that 4 of Chelsea’s players had never started in a Premier League match, their captain Cahill was injured, and their biggest asset Hazard was injured. Whether Conte knew the trade-off he was making when he purchased Alonso is unclear (or even if he signed off on the transfer at all) – the fact of the matter is that when a player is able to have such an impact offensively, then he becomes a very powerful weapon despite his defensive frailty. In Conte’s 343 system he also has an extra central defender to take up some of the slack.

When Alonso signed for Chelsea, he said “it was time for him to win some titles”. Many doubted his quality, and even his ability to make it into the starting line-up - however, under Antonio Conte’s guidance he has already done just that, and he will undoubtedly be a key factor if Chelsea are to fight to retain their title.