What Marco Palestra's return means for Chelsea and Xabi Alonso

Marco Palestra is back in Chelsea first team training and could very well make his debut at Stamford Bridge against Bournemouth upon the Premier League’s return from the international break.

Palestra can play on either the right or left, occupying roles most commonly fulfilled by Pedro Neto, Malo Gusto, Pep Chavarria and Jorrel Hato so far this season.

In Chelsea's pre-season game against Real Sociedad, Alonso chose to deploy Palestra on the left-hand side in a starting eleven which many fans believed was Alonso’s preferred eleven. If Alonso is to make the same choice when Chelsea come up against Bournemouth, we can look to that pre-season performance as an indicator of how Palestra may impact the game.

Palestra’s Impact

His first impact, and the one Chelsea are arguably crying out for the most right now, is that he brings an element of physicality that the squad is otherwise lacking. Over the last several seasons, despite various set piece coaches coming in and out of the club, Chelsea have consistently struggled to defend dead balls. Bringing a player into the fold who Chelsea have listed at 6’1” will likely help the back line deal with aerial duels.

The other main way Palestra can impact the game is through interchanging with Joao Pedro and Morgan Rogers. He truly does put the “wing” in wing-back, consistently occupying spaces high up the pitch, both getting touches out wide and making dummy runs in behind opposing back lines.

Both in his time in Serie A, where he won the league’s defender of the year award, and in the pre-season game against Sociedad, his heat maps show him getting touches on the ball in the opposition third quite consistently throughout matches. His willingness to make runs in behind and take up positions typically occupied by Morgan Rogers and Joao Pedro allows the two traditional forwards to come inside and receive the ball to their feet as defenders are forced to mark Palestra.

While Rogers and Joao Pedro are already flying this season, Palestra’s ability to interchange with them and put defenders in conflict should only help them get more time and space on the ball.

Tactical Flexibility

Palestra’s ability to be an outlet and a runner, largely a role occupied by Pedro Neto so far this season, allows Chelsea to have more choice in who they play opposite him. Estavao and Quenda have both struggled for minutes this season, but the return of Palestra and Caicedo should see the demands of the role opposite Palestra change compared to when Hato and Chavarria were playing in his spot.

Neto felt like the obvious selection to handle the defensive work rate and physicality of playing without Caicedo and Palestra, but now, if Alonso wants to go with less physically dominant but more direct options in Quenda and Estavao, he certainly could. Having a fully healthy squad should give Alonso the luxury of being more tactically flexible, which should get more players involved.