Chelsea full back Marcos Alonso is receiving quite the hard time following his performance against Newcastle United, but are the comments justified?
Chelsea took on Newcastle United in the Premier League on Sunday. It was a controversial game, in which Chelsea received a penalty decision in their favour, after Marcos Alonso made the most of a challenge inside the box. While many were quick to label this call as unfair, fans of the Blues were certainly not about to complain.
However, a criticism they could make, was the performance of Marcos Alonso. Now, if you were to watch the highlights, you would probably brush this aside as ridiculous, but there is reasoning behind these comments. Alonso was heavily involved in both goals, for those of you that didn’t know.
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While his attacking input is pretty good, his defending can often be questionable. This is what the fans should expect following on from playing at wing back under Antonio Conte. There wasn’t as much of a heavy emphasis on defending then, not as much as there is now, anyway.
Chelsea icon Ruud Gullit gave an in-depth look at both full backs for BBC Sport. In his column, he claimed that Alonso and Azpilicueta need to provide more of an attacking threat. While I think it’s unfair to criticise Alonso’s attacking input, he did a pretty good job at explaining his reasoning.
The point which he and many others have made is that Chelsea’s full backs aren’t up there with their Premier League counterparts when it comes to attacking input. This, I can agree with.
While I think Alonso and Mendy share the same defensive frailties, I can’t help but put Mendy above him on an attacking front. The Frenchman is often involved in attacking play, racking up the assists. His delivery is pretty pinpoint, and in fairness, he is working with one of the world’s best finishers in Sergio Aguero.
A player who is pretty all-round is Andrew Robertson of Liverpool. The Scotsman can do it all, whether it be see off his opposite number, or swing balls into the box. His passing is incredible for a full-back, and he’s up there with Mendy in terms of end-product.
Sarri often relies on width to work his system. The full backs are expected to push forward and help with attacking play. Despite Eden Hazard’s immense ability, he can’t do it all. This is why the two full backs have been pinpointed by fans and pundits alike.
Do you think the critiques of Marcos Alonso are fair, or do Chelsea have nothing to worry about?