Three things we learned from Chelsea loss as Alonso faces major problem

Geovany Quenda makes immediate impact

The £40million signing of Geovany Quenda has somewhat flown under the radar amid another summer of turnover at Chelsea.

Back to fitness, though, Alonso entrusted Quenda from the start against Juventus and will have been pleased with what he saw. The Portuguese winger was a bright spark for the Blues in attack as they dominated the opening stages. Linking up well with right-back Marco Palestra, Quenda was given license to drift inside and make things happen, whipping in an in-swinging cross for Danny Welbeck to head wide.

More defensive uncertainty for Chelsea

defensive uncertainty is a major issue for Alonso's side Despite finally agreeing the £31m departure of Trevoh Chalobah to Como, the Blues still have lots of work to do before Alonso can say he has a settled defensive unit. All this uncertainty is not good for the Chelsea boss as he tries to establish a backline he can rely on. Without the injured Levi Colwill, Chelsea looked vulnerable and were punished in the second half by Zhegrova.

No1 race heats up as Penders makes debut

Alonso has been clear about how he views the goalkeeping situation at Chelsea. Robert Sanchez and Mike Penders will both compete for the No1 jersey this season, with neither player given any guarantees over minutes. Sanchez has been a divisive presence between the posts for Chelsea since signing from Brighton in 2023, and there are doubts about his ability to compete among the very best goalkeepers in Europe. Penders, meanwhile, is coming off the back of an impressive season at BlueCo sister club Strasbourg but lacks top-level experience. There is no standout candidate to assume the role of first-choice goalkeeper for Chelsea, and it will be interesting to see if Alonso begins to favour either Sanchez or Penders in the final weeks of pre-season.