Alonso's Chelsea have league's worst defence: 12 conceded in five

📰 Xabi Alonso's Chelsea have the leakiest defence in the Premier League after five games. 📌 Key points 📈 Chelsea have won two, drawn one and lost two, with 7 points in 10th place. 🧱 Their 12 goals conceded is the most in the league. ⚽ Six of those came from set pieces, also a league high. 📊 Their 25.6% possession against Brighton was a club Premier League low. 🗓️ They were beaten 3-0 away at Brentford. 📝 What happened 🗓️ Alonso started with a 3-2 win at Fulham on 24 August and a 4-3 home win over Brighton on 30 August. Since then Chelsea have lost 2-1 to Arsenal on 6 September, drawn 2-2 with Hull City on 12 September and been beaten 3-0 at Brentford on 18 September, going into the international break without a league win in September. 🧱 Defence is the problem. Twelve goals conceded in five games took Chelsea past Crystal Palace (11) as the league's worst defence, and Brentford's opener was the sixth set-piece goal they have let in. Alonso became only the sixth manager, after Mick McCarthy, Sammy Lee, Terry Connor, Slaviša Jokanović and Scott Parker, to concede at least twice in each of his first five Premier League games. 📊 The Brighton game summed up the approach. Chelsea had just 25.6% of the ball and 146 successful passes, both club Premier League lows, yet generated 2.97 xG, almost double Brighton's, and won 4-3. "You need to have context for every data," Alonso said. 🗣️ After Brentford he admitted Chelsea "dropped our consistency, our competitive mentality" in the second half and that "small details can be decisive". That game also saw 16-year-old Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli become Chelsea's first Premier League player born in 2010. 📊 By the numbers • League: P5 W2 D1 L2, 7 points, 10th • Goals conceded: 12 (most), 6 from set pieces (most) • v Brighton: 25.6% possession, 146 successful passes, 2.97 xG 🔭 Why it matters Alonso arrived with big expectations after his unbeaten title at Leverkusen, so a prolonged defensive problem will bring pressure. After the break Chelsea face Bournemouth (home, 10 October), Everton (away, 17 October), Tottenham (home, 24 October) and Manchester United (home, 31 October). October is the test.