Chelsea vs AC Milan: Alonso Seeks Response in Jakarta
Chelsea step into the heat of Jakarta this afternoon needing something that has suddenly started to feel important in pre-season: a response.
Two defeats on the bounce have nudged the mood around Xabi Alonso’s early days from carefree curiosity to something closer to scrutiny. A 1-0 loss to Juventus in Hong Kong followed the late collapse against 10-man Tottenham in Australia. Before that, three wins over Crawley, Bromley and Western Sydney Wanderers had painted a far calmer picture.
Now comes AC Milan at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, the first leg of a demanding 24 hours that also includes Johor Darul Ta'zim in Malaysia on Sunday. With the Premier League just two weeks away, the dress rehearsal stage has arrived.
Alonso turns to his core
The excuses are obvious enough. A staggered return after the World Cup. Heavy travel. Patchy pitches. Constant rotation. Alonso has not yet been able to settle on a back four, let alone a full starting XI, and Chelsea have looked exactly like a team still learning each other’s movements.
Jakarta should look different.
The bulk of the first-team squad are now back and building minutes. Against Milan, Alonso is expected to lean heavily on his senior options, saving the bulk of the experimentation for Johor less than a day later.
At the back, there is a genuine decision to make. Robert Sanchez finally returned from injury against Juventus, but 20-year-old Belgian Mike Penders has been pushing hard in training and is firmly in the frame for the No1 shirt. Pre-season is usually about rhythm, yet this feels like a live audition.
In front of them, the manager is desperate for stability. Chelsea’s defensive uncertainty has been a theme of the tour, and Alonso has been quick to point to the revolving door of centre-backs. That is why the potential return of Levi Colwill matters so much.
Colwill, who missed most of last season with an anterior cruciate ligament injury, was held back in Hong Kong as a precaution on another unreliable surface. The same applied to Cole Palmer. Both are now expected to be available in Jakarta, and both change the dynamic of this team immediately.
Colwill offers the left-footed balance and composure Alonso wants to build around. Palmer is the creative hub, the player who knits attacks together and sets the tempo in the final third. If both start, Chelsea suddenly look far more like the side Alonso will lean on when the real points are at stake.
Mudryk back in the spotlight
The Juventus defeat was defined less by the scoreline and more by a name on the team sheet. Mykhailo Mudryk’s return, after resolving his anti-doping disciplinary case with the FA, turned a routine friendly into a talking point.
Now the winger is firmly in the shop window. Several clubs are circling with loan offers, aware that his Chelsea future is uncertain but his talent is not. Jakarta could bring his first start for the club since November 2024.
For Alonso, Mudryk is both an opportunity and a dilemma. Start him on the left of a three behind Joao Pedro and you get raw pace, direct running and a player desperate to prove a point. Hold him back and you risk wasting valuable minutes at a time when decisions on his future are imminent.
The expectation is that he plays, and plays a lot.
Youth staking their claim
Amid the turbulence, one of the most striking themes of Chelsea’s summer has been the emergence of Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli.
The 16-year-old, Sydney-born and already an England youth international, was handed his first senior start against Juventus and responded with the kind of calm that belied his age. Alonso trusted him ahead of Romeo Lavia and Dario Essugo to partner Moises Caicedo in midfield. That is not a minor detail.
Nicoll-Jazuli’s rise has been one of the major positives of the tour, and even with a stronger XI expected against Milan, he has forced his way into the conversation for meaningful minutes.
On the flanks, Geovany Quenda has done something similar. The 19-year-old winger, signed from Sporting for £40million, was one of the few bright sparks in an otherwise flat display in Hong Kong. Sharp, direct and unfazed, he already looks like a player ready to contribute now rather than later.
With two games in two countries in two days, Alonso will need them. The plan is simple enough: a near full-strength side against Milan, then heavy rotation and more youth involvement against Johor Darul Ta'zim.
The likely shape in Jakarta
Against Serie A opposition in a full Gelora Bung Karno, Alonso is expected to go strong. A possible XI:
Penders; Palestra, Fofana, Colwill, Hato; Lavia, Caicedo; Estevao, Palmer, Mudryk; Joao Pedro.
That side carries the hallmarks of what Alonso wants: technical full-backs, a double pivot to control transitions, and a fluid three behind a mobile centre-forward.
The main caveats sit next to the names of Colwill and Palmer, both officially listed as doubts but described by the club as precautionary absentees in midweek. If there are no late setbacks, both should feature, even if not for the full 90.
Kick-off comes at 1pm BST, under the Indonesian sun and in front of one of Asia’s most fevered football crowds. Pre-season results can be deceptive, and Alonso knows that as well as anyone. But after back-to-back defeats, an unsettled defence and a squad still taking shape, this no longer feels like just another friendly.
It feels like the moment Chelsea’s new era has to start looking like one.
