Former Real Madrid manager Xabi Alonso is already off to a good start in his new digs with Premier League giants Chelsea, following in the reverse foot steps of Carlo Ancelotti and Jose Mourinho in going from the Merengues to the Blues.
Chelsea won their opener against another former Real Madrid manager in Alvaro Arbeloa, who is Alonso's close friend and former Madrid teammate in addition to being his successor at the Santiago Bernabeu last season. They barely won 3-2 against the smaller club, though, and they simiarly had to hold off an upset bid from Brighton, winning 4-3 on Matchday 2 of the Premier League as well.
Still, two wins in two is a great result for a Chelsea side that missed out on European football entirely in the 2025/26 season and was pretty much on the same level as both Fulham and Brighton despite their massive wages.
Real Madrid are rolling with Jose Mourinho
Despite the wins, Real Madrid will not be having an ounce of regret, even if many fans still view Alonso as some sort of a martyr. And that's because Real Madrid look so much better this season with Jose Mourinho at the helm.
As Florentino Perez intended when he hired Mourinho this summer, the goal is for the Portuguese coach to get the superstars Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe, and Vinicius Junior to play at their highest level together and actually have unity as one.
With three wins and three, the master plan is clearly working for both Flo and Mou. Whereas Xabi Alonso acted like a dictator despite never winning the Champions League as a manager while coaching a team with many players who already achieved this, Mourinho is one of the coaching GOATs and is respecting the strengths and weaknesses of this squad, including not playing the likes of Fede Valverde and Bellingham out of position, which is part of what soured everyone on the manager last season.
Florentino Perez had to fire Alonso last year because the current Chelsea manager had made his situation in Madrid untenable with his attitude, and when the rampant rumors were swirling about unrest in the squad, Alonso, not once, ever defended his players, while that is all Jose Mourinho and his old protege Alvaro Arbeloa did as coaches.
Alonso can have his wins over Brighton and Fulham, barely scraping by, but Real Madrid wil not care one bit. They have the real deal manager in Mourinho and are absolutley rolling with him.
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