Xabi Alonso Aims for Chelsea's First Win Against AC Milan in Jakarta

Xabi Alonso has not come to Chelsea to lose practice games, even if the table still reads 0 points and the stakes are technically low. Two defeats to open pre-season have already sharpened the mood around his new project, and on Saturday in Jakarta he runs straight into another European giant determined to protect its own momentum: AC Milan.

The backdrop is unusual. Two storied clubs, 11 European Cups between them, meeting thousands of miles from home on Indonesian soil. The heat, the noise, the spectacle will feel a world away from west London or San Siro, but the questions facing both managers are very familiar.

Alonso needs a response. Ruben Amorim wants confirmation.

Alonso searching for a tune

Chelsea’s 1-0 loss to Juventus on Wednesday extended a stuttering start to the summer. Performances have been disjointed, the pressing only half-formed, the attacking patterns still more theory than habit. Pre-season is supposed to look like this, of course, but the badge on Alonso’s tracksuit does not allow much patience.

He will have to find solutions without his headline arrival. Morgan Rogers, the $155 million signing, remains unavailable as he completes an extended post-World Cup break. The club’s marquee attacking addition will not make his debut in Jakarta, leaving Chelsea short of the one player many supporters expected to reshape their forward line.

So the spotlight falls elsewhere.

Danny Welbeck, whose move to Stamford Bridge raised eyebrows across Europe, is likely to get another look. The veteran forward made his first appearance in blue during the defeat to Juventus, a brief but intriguing cameo that hinted at the role Alonso might have in mind: hard running, clever movement, a foil as much as a finisher. Minutes now matter for Welbeck, not just to sharpen his touch but to prove he still belongs at this level.

Then there is Mykhailo Mudryk. Once a symbol of Chelsea’s wild spending, then a name that quietly slipped off the teamsheet and out of the conversation, the Ukrainian winger re-emerged against Juventus for his first appearance in almost two years. Eight minutes, nothing more, yet it felt significant.

Mudryk’s absence traced back to a positive test for the banned substance meldonium in 2024, a case that dragged on before he was ultimately cleared of his remaining ban on appeal. The return has been slow, carefully managed. Alonso now has a decision: keep easing him in, or throw him at a tiring Milan back line and see if that old acceleration still frightens defenders.

Chelsea need someone to quicken their rhythm. Mudryk, if he can rediscover his edge, might be that jolt.

Milan’s clean slate under Amorim

On the opposite bench, the mood is lighter. AC Milan arrive in Jakarta unbeaten in pre-season, their confidence quietly building under new coach Ruben Amorim, the former Manchester United target now tasked with rebooting life at San Siro.

Milan’s last outing, a 1-1 draw against bitter rivals Inter, offered a glimpse of what Amorim wants: aggression without chaos, a team that presses with purpose and attacks in waves. The draw kept their pre-season record intact and, more importantly, underlined that the players are buying into the new ideas.

This clash with Chelsea is Milan’s final friendly of the summer. After Jakarta, the experiments end and the serious work begins. Amorim will want to walk away from this tour with a statement result, something to point to when the season starts and the pressure tightens.

A win over Chelsea would do nicely. Not for the trophy cabinet, but for the belief that his methods translate against elite opposition.

Different needs, same stage

Both clubs will talk about fitness, minutes, conditioning. Both managers will insist the result is secondary. Watch the touchline on Saturday and decide if you believe them.

Alonso, still winless in charge of Chelsea, cannot afford another flat display. He needs sharper combinations, quicker transitions, a defensive structure that looks less like a work in progress and more like a plan. Even in August, reputations move fast at Stamford Bridge.

Amorim, unbeaten and building, will look for one more sign that his Milan can control games rather than simply survive them. This is his last rehearsal before Serie A and the Champions League demand answers every three days.

Jakarta will not decide their seasons. It will not define their legacies. But for Alonso, chasing that first clear note from a still-tuning Chelsea side, and for Amorim, trying to close a flawless pre-season with a flourish, it might just reveal which of these European heavyweights is closer to being ready when the real music starts.