Are Chelsea lucky, or the poster boys for a post-possession Premier League? | OneFootball

The Xabi Alonso era may have started with consecutive victories – but how worried should the Chelsea boss be about the Blues’ inability to control matches?

Alonso took charge of Chelsea for the first time in the 3-2 win at local rivals Fulham last Monday before the Blues started their home campaign with a chaotic 4-3 victory over Brighton.

No team has scored more goals than the seven bagged by Chelsea, but only Ipswich and Palace have conceded more than the five allowed by two different goalkeepers.

Even more strikingly, only one team of the 18 to have played two games has had less possession than Chelsea through the opening two weekends.

Newly-promoted Hull City have averaged 30.4% of the ball – not that it has done them any harm either. They beat Manchester United on the opening day with 28% possession and Coventry on Saturday with 32%.

Hull, though, came into the season knowing they would have to make the most of what they could muster.

Chelsea have rather different expectations, especially under Alonso.

The Spaniard averaged 58% possession at Bayer Leverkusen and 64% at Real Madrid. This is a manager who craves control through possession.

So he must be alarmed by the chaos around his new side. Chelsea allowed a Fulham team expected by many to struggle to have 62% of the ball. And it was even worse against Brighton.

At Stamford Bridge on Sunday, Chelsea had 25.6% possession. With that they completed just 146 passes.

Both statistics are their lowest on record since 2003-04.

A simple reason for both would be the Chelsea players’ inability to find a teammate. Their 67% passing accuracy is their lowest in a home league match in more than 22 years, since a 1-0 win over Charlton in February 2004.

Alonso could take some solace in this being a wider trend, at least through the opening weekends of the season.

Six of the nine winning teams triumphed with less of the ball, averaging 38% possession between them.

Newcastle, with 40%, were only denied a win by a last-kick penalty, while Bournemouth ran City close with 34%. Meaning the only teams to win with more possession were Arsenal and Brighton, against a startled Coventry and a shambolic Villa respectively.

The trend has continued into matchday two. Of the five winners so far, only Manchester United had most possession, as they would be expected to at home against newly-promoted opposition.

The four other victors – Chelsea, Newcastle, Hull and Sunderland – all won with 35% possession between them.

For two, maybe three of those clubs, winning with considerably less of the ball could represent a well-executed game-plan.

For Chelsea, though, it must prompt concerns for Alonso, even if the Blues’ outstanding attacking talent has secured the new manager maximum points so far.