Chelsea’s defence under Xabi Alonso: 13 goals conceded in six games, and why one clean sheet at Everton doesn’t fix it

Chelsea kept their first Premier League clean sheet in nine months on Saturday, winning 2-0 at Everton thanks to two goals from Pedro Neto. It ended a run of 22 consecutive league games without a shutout, stretching back to a 2-0 home win over Brentford on 17 January. Before the trip to Merseyside, Xabi Alonso’s side had conceded 13 goals in six league matches, more than any other Premier League team at that stage.

Chelsea’s matches have rarely been tight this season. Their first six league games produced 28 goals at both ends, the highest combined total of any Premier League side, which is why goals lines and both-teams-to-score markets have dominated the betting on their fixtures. Whether that pattern holds after Everton will matter to anyone choosing the best football betting app for in-play Chelsea markets, where the price of a clean sheet moves quickly once a match settles.

How the 13 goals went in

The run started with goalkeeping errors. On the opening night at Craven Cottage, Chelsea won 3-2, but both Fulham goals followed mistakes by Robert Sánchez: Josh King’s shot squeezed through him, and Gonzalo García scored after he could only parry a low drive from Timothy Castagne. Within a week, Chelsea had signed Emiliano Martínez from Aston Villa, for a fee reported by British media at around £7.5 million, to take over in goal.

The problem did not stop with the goalkeeper. Chelsea conceded three in a 4-3 win over Brighton, two in a 2-1 defeat at Arsenal and two more in a 2-2 home draw with promoted Hull City. At Brentford on 18 September, a poorly defended corner just after the hour opened a 3-0 defeat, and two further goals came on the counter-attack as Chelsea pushed for an equaliser. Alonso’s side had conceded at least twice in each of his first five league games.

Three reasons behind the run

The first is structural. Alonso’s 3-4-3 leaves wide spaces behind the wing-backs, and opponents exploited them from the opening weekend, when Chelsea attacked with purpose but were often exposed when they lost the ball. The second is set pieces, illustrated by the Brentford opener, where two home players were left unmarked from the same delivery.

The third is the absence of Moisés Caicedo. The Ecuadorian missed almost all of the first five league games through injury, and without him Chelsea struggled to control matches in midfield. Sky Sports identified the defence and the midfield as the two areas Alonso needed to fix during the October international break. Caicedo returned for the 5-1 win over Bournemouth, and Chelsea conceded only once that day, the first time under Alonso they had let in fewer than two in a league game.

Everton: a better performance, but not a clean bill of health

The numbers from Merseyside support the idea of progress. According to ESPN’s match data, Everton generated only about 0.45 expected goals, against roughly 1.5 for Chelsea. That was a low total for a home side that had arrived unbeaten, in fifth place and with the joint-best defensive record in the league. Alonso called the performance mature and said his team looked in control.

The same match also showed why one result settles little. Everton still created two big chances to Chelsea’s one, and the Chelsea goalkeepers had to make four saves. Morgan Rogers escaped a red card before half-time, a decision Everton manager David Moyes questioned afterwards, and Chelsea rode their luck at times in the first half. Had Rogers been sent off, a team that had just ended a nine-month wait would have spent the second half defending with ten men.

The goalkeeping question returns

Martínez, signed to steady the defence, was stretchered off at Everton with a head injury. He has since undergone surgery on a broken jaw, leaving Mike Penders to take over in goal. The Belgian, who came on at Everton and helped see out the clean sheet, now faces a demanding run without the most experienced goalkeeper at the club. Chelsea host Tottenham on Saturday, then play Liverpool in the Carabao Cup, Manchester United at home and Sunderland away before the November international break.

Those four matches will give a clearer verdict than one afternoon at Everton. If Chelsea keep conceding fewer than two a game with Caicedo in midfield and Penders behind them, the Everton result will look like a turning point. If the goals return, the clean sheet will be remembered as an exception in a season that, so far, has been defined by what happens at both ends.

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