Is Chelsea’s or Liverpool’s Squad Better for Xabi Alonso’s Tactics?

It’s confirmed: Xabi Alonso is putting on the coveted blue shirt. There was a bit of speculation about whether he would go to Liverpool but, somewhat bizarrely, Richard Hughes – the sporting director at Anfield – allowed Chelsea to have a free run. So why are fans confused about this, and is Chelsea’s or Liverpool’s squad better for Alonso’s tactics?

The Liverpool Question

Let’s first look at what could’ve been, but isn’t. After a miserable defence of Liverpool’s Premier League title, many were assuming that current manager Arne Slot would be out of the job, and yet the Reds have decided to give him another crack of the whip. 

Perhaps this is due to the club hierarchy believing that last season’s collapse had more to do with injuries and fatigue than tactical shortcomings, which could well be true. 

Multiple sports books, for instance, listed Liverpool as weak contenders, – with Puntit even downgrading their expectations to the point where they were tipped to struggle against mid-table opposition, despite weighing the odds heavily in Liverpool’s favour after their strong opening run. 

But whatever the reason, there’s no doubt that Alonso’s tactical style would have been tailor-made for the modern Liverpool squad. His teams thrive on intense pressing, rapid transitions, and intelligent movement in midfield, and these are all traits that have been embedded into Liverpool’s identity for years. 

Players like Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, specifically, look perfectly suited to Alonso’s system, while attacking full-backs and ball-playing defenders are essential components of his approach.

The Chelsea Question

Chelsea, on the other hand, is a completely different proposition. Alonso’s system doesn’t seem tailor-made for them, simply because there’s nothing to directly compare it to yet. The team is still young, of course, and so it’s hard to assign them an identity that fundamentally matches Alonso’s style. 

That’s an exciting prospect for both team and manager, however, as the canvas is entirely blank and the potential is enormous. 

This is bolstered by the fact that there are players like Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo who already possess the technical quality and work rate required to operate in Alonso’s midfield system, while Cole Palmer has the creativity and intelligence to thrive in a more fluid attacking role. 

The talent is there to compete at the highest level and challenge for major honours, and with Chelsea’s squad currently lacking balance in certain areas – and an identity they can call their own – there’s no doubt that Alonso will be given the freedom to shape the club and claim those trophies.

Which Club is Better for Alonso’s Tactics?

With the above in mind, there is no one club that is ‘better’ for Alonso’s tactics, as they both represent something very different for the Spanish manager. One is a team that already feels distinctly ‘Alonso’ in its structure, and the other is a team ripe for moulding into his image. 

What is true, however, is that Liverpool has missed a golden opportunity. While it can be argued that Slot needs more time, there is a sense among supporters that Alonso would have been the better long-term successor – a manager who not only understands the club culturally, but whose tactical ideas align perfectly with the modern Liverpool identity. 

Right now, it looks like Slot’s own ideas aren’t as well-suited, and even if players are back from injury and the squad becomes more stable, there’s nothing so far to suggest that the picture will change. 

Liverpool might regret the decision to pass Alonso up, then, but until we see a full season under consistent fitness conditions and a settled tactical structure, it will be hard to say that with a hundred per cent certainty. Football is an unpredictable game, after all!