Xabi Alonso’s Chelsea tenure got off to a dream start with the Blues defeating bitter-rivals Fulham 3–2 away in their 2026–27 Premier League opener.
It took João Pedro just 31 seconds to score the first goal of the Xabi Alonso era with a clever chip to put the visitors ahead. Chelsea had chances to double their lead soon after, but it was Fulham who struck next via a Josh King near-post strike Robert Sánchez made a mess off.