Marcos Alonso struggled to keep his head above the water in Chelsea's 2-1 win over Lille, hanging on to his teammates as the Blues sailed into the Champions League quarter-final. The 31-year-old, who despite having been labelled a 'specialist' by Thomas Tuchel, fell victim to the waves of Les Dogues' pressure, exposing himself - once again - as the hole in the Blues' defence.
With no more than five minutes to spare, Chelsea were pinned back against the wall and Alonso was spun inside out by Lille defender Tiago Djaló. The Spain international's flat-footed defending opened an avenue of attack for his opposition and, had it not been for reinforcements, Lille could've mounted a late comeback.
Alonso's moment of embarrassment typified what was a shaky night to forget which saw Stade Pierre-Mauroy's intimidating atmosphere take the defender prisoner. Despite having shown glimpses of magic at Chelsea since joining Fiorentina in 2016 for £24m, Tuchel can no longer rely on the Spaniard to maintain an elite level of focus or consistency.
