Chelsea’s difficulties continued as their pre-season campaign concluded with an unusually heated draw against Malaysian champions Johor Darul Ta’zim. The warning signs are concerning: an overcrowded group of attacking players, reminders of last season’s lack of experience and discipline, and less than two weeks for new head coach Xabi Alonso to bring important players back into the fold and train with his complete squad. Their Premier League campaign begins against Fulham on 24 August, with Alonso’s former friend Álvaro Arbeloa in charge of the opposition.
Alonso has been asked to turn a team that placed 10th in the Premier League last season into Champions League contenders. He changed the entire starting lineup for the match against JDT, allowing players to recover after a strong side defeated Milan only a day earlier at a venue 600 miles away.
Chelsea selected several teenagers in defence and midfield, but their attacking trio of Estêvão Willian, Liam Delap and Nicolas Jackson would appeal to most Premier League teams. Together, the three forwards have cost the club more than £100m over the past three years.
Delap converted two penalties, scoring as many goals in 20 minutes as he did throughout his debut Chelsea season after arriving from Ipswich last summer. The 23-year-old reportedly intends to remain at the club and compete for a starting role, having demonstrated his ability with 12 Premier League goals for Ipswich. Alonso nevertheless has numerous alternatives, including João Pedro, one of last season’s leading forwards; recent arrival Danny Welbeck; and Jackson, whose loan spell at Bayern Munich gave Chelsea further reasons to consider his future carefully.
Emmanuel Emegha recently joined from affiliated club Strasbourg and could be sent out on loan, while Marc Guiu also remains part of the squad.
Mykhailo Mudryk’s unexpectedly early return from a drugs suspension at the end of July introduced another complication. Chelsea already have several wide options, including Cole Palmer and Estêvão, who again appeared sharp on Sunday after an injury disrupted the teenager’s encouraging first campaign at Stamford Bridge. Record signing Morgan Rogers is another possibility, having regularly operated from the left during his time with Aston Villa.
There is still time to complete transfers before the window shuts at the end of the month, but Chelsea currently have an extraordinary 41-player squad. With no European competition next season and several potentially unsettled weeks ahead, Alonso’s workload is unlikely to become any easier.
JDT head coach Xisco Muñoz developed a reputation for intensity and aggressive football during his time at Watford, and his team approached the Chelsea encounter as if it were a competitive match. At the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Johor, the hosts committed fully to tackles, disrupted their opponents and played with a level of aggression rarely associated with a pre-season fixture. Chelsea struggled to control their reactions.
A number of confrontations occurred during the game. Delap and Jackson both received avoidable yellow cards for dissent after protesting to the referee about tackles on teammates. Estêvão was fortunate to escape dismissal when he kicked out after believing he should have been awarded a penalty, with the referee showing him only a yellow card.
Substitute Geovany Quenda was also cautioned after making a completely unnecessary challenge that appeared retaliatory. Sixteen-year-old Reggie Watson then collected another booking in stoppage time, taking Chelsea’s total to five yellow cards.
Chelsea accumulated 11 red cards last season, twice the number recorded by any other team and the highest total in the club’s history. Alonso has moved away from the owners’ preference for recruiting younger footballers by bringing in Welbeck, 35, and Jordan Henderson, 36. Chelsea have not selected a player older than 30 since Thiago Silva departed at the age of 39 in May 2024, although the arrival of two experienced professionals may not be enough to resolve their disciplinary issues.
JDT opened the scoring after breaking quickly through Chelsea’s defence, with Arif Aiman, locally nicknamed the “Asian Messi”, completing the swift attack. Delap equalised shortly before the interval and converted another penalty soon after the hour mark to put Chelsea ahead. JDT responded three minutes later when Óscar Arribas’s free kick took a significant deflection, before Bérgson restored their advantage with a long-range finish into the bottom corner four minutes from time. Mudryk entered in the 87th minute and delivered a difficult cross that Antonio Glauder turned into his own net in the final minute, sparing Chelsea an awkward defeat.
Chelsea now head back to London following an exhausting itinerary. Their final three fixtures took place in three different countries within five days: against Juventus in Hong Kong, Milan in Indonesia and JDT in Malaysia. The last two matches were played on consecutive days, and the squad’s flight arrived in Malaysia at 3am on matchday.
Alonso has only two weeks, along with a final friendly against Real Sociedad on Saturday, to prepare with £117m recruit Rogers, frequently injured captain Reece James and unsettled midfielder Enzo Fernández. All three are expected to return to Chelsea’s Cobham training base this week after receiving extended breaks following the World Cup. Once that preparation period ends, the competitive season will begin and Alonso’s challenge will become even more demanding.
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