Fernández Booed by Chelsea Supporters as Alonso Offers a Glimpse of His Tactical Blueprint

Enzo Fernandez was booed by sections of the Chelsea support as Morgan Rogers marked his first appearance for the club with a goal in a 3-1 victory over Real Sociedad.

 

Joao Pedro continued his superb pre-season form with a brace, while manager Xabi Alonso offered a tantalising glimpse of what could become his blueprint for the season ahead.

 

Yet the evening was overshadowed by the reaction to Fernandez’s second-half appearance, less than 24 hours after Chelsea’s self-imposed transfer deadline had passed.

 

Fernandez had been keen to join Real Madrid earlier this summer, only for the Spanish giants to subsequently end their interest. His representatives later held discussions with Manchester City, although no offer was forthcoming to meet Chelsea’s £120m valuation before Friday’s 17:00 BST deadline.

 

The midfielder was booed by some early arrivals at Stamford Bridge when his name was announced 45 minutes before kick-off.

 

The stadium announcer subsequently opted not to read out the names of the substitutes shortly before the match, but there were audible boos when Fernandez was introduced in the 62nd minute.

 

Chelsea supporters appeared distinctly divided, with others responding by chanting his name.

 

There was, however, a clear indication of Alonso and Chelsea’s continued backing for Fernandez when Reece James left the pitch and, as usual, handed the armband to his long-standing vice-captain.

 

Almost every touch from Fernandez was greeted by a mixture of cheers and jeers, while some supporters even celebrated when he was fouled.

 

The reaction followed attempts by some sections of the support to draw a line under a transfer saga which now appears to have ended with Chelsea expecting to retain one of their finest players.

 

Others, however, remain deeply unhappy with what they perceive as Fernandez’s disloyalty, particularly after he spoke publicly about his desire to move to Madrid. His agent, Javier Pastore, has also claimed that the midfielder is underpaid.

 

It will be intriguing to see how supporters of the Premier League’s other 19 clubs respond to Fernandez, given his celebrations and social-media jibes following Argentina’s victory over England in a World Cup semi-final in July.

 

That is likely to remain a talking point whether Fernandez stays at Chelsea or Manchester City revive their interest and attempt to reunite him with his former manager Enzo Maresca before deadline day on 1 September.

 

### Rogers makes immediate impression

 

It took Rogers just seven minutes to score his first goal in a Chelsea shirt, reacting quickest after Alex Remiro had saved Joao Pedro’s initial header.

 

The £117m club-record signing from Aston Villa initially looked sharp and combined impressively with Cole Palmer and Pedro in Chelsea’s front three.

 

Within 10 minutes of his debut, supporters were already chanting his name.

 

It was, nevertheless, understandable that Rogers faded as the match progressed, given that he had trained for less than a week since returning from holiday before being withdrawn after 62 minutes.

 

Beyond Rogers, Pedro has arguably been the outstanding player of Chelsea’s pre-season.

 

He struck twice, heading Chelsea back in front in the 47th minute before adding a composed side-footed finish 30 minutes later to secure victory, after Sociedad had drawn level shortly before half-time through Jon Mikel Aramburu’s volley.

 

Chelsea surrendered control towards the end of the first half and looked vulnerable, but they were considerably improved after the interval.

 

Pedro has now scored eight goals in seven pre-season matches and led the line, with Rogers and Palmer operating just behind him.

 

Alonso offered a glimpse of the 3-4-2-1 formation he could deploy at Fulham in nine days’ time as he took charge of a match at Stamford Bridge for the first time.

 

Robert Sanchez started in goal, while Wesley Fofana, new signing Maxence Lacroix and Levi Colwill formed a back three from right to left.

 

Pedro Neto operated as the right wing-back, with Marco Palestra on the left, while captain Reece James and Moises Caicedo formed the midfield pairing behind the attacking trio.

 

There was also a debut for substitute wing-back Pep Chavarria, although several notable players were conspicuous by their absence.

 

Alonso insists he is not wedded to either a back three or a back four, but it was this system that Chelsea employed when they defeated AC Milan 3-0 a week ago.

 

### Who was left out?

 

Chelsea still have 40 senior professionals on their books, leaving Alonso with the unenviable task of omitting a sizeable number of players.

 

Nicolas Jackson, Liam Delap, Mykhailo Mudryk, Tosin Adarabioyo and Mamadou Sarr were all left out despite featuring in earlier pre-season fixtures.

 

All are either available for transfer or attracting interest on loan or on a permanent basis. Mudryk and Sarr are targeting Premier League loan moves, Jackson is available for £65m, while Delap could leave for £50m. Tosin, meanwhile, has attracted interest from Benfica and Marseille.

 

Alonso did not hold a media conference to explain his team selection, but multiple sources indicated that the decision to leave the players out was his own.

 

New signings Emmanuel Emegha, Danny Welbeck and Jordan Henderson, together with recalled loanee Aaron Anselmino, were also absent, potentially through injury.

 

Unlike Delap and Mudryk, however, those four were seated close to the squad behind the bench alongside third-choice goalkeeper Teddy Sharman-Lowe.

 

There was further intrigue surrounding the midfield, with Fernandez featuring while new signing Valentin Barco, who joined from Strasbourg, was not given an opportunity to make his first appearance.

Trimming the squad remains a considerable challenge for Chelsea. The club still need to offload at least 15 players, with just 17 days of the transfer window remaining if they are to reduce their senior squad to the permitted 25 players.