Xabi Alonso and Álvaro Arbeloa face each other this Monday for the first time as coaches in the Premier League. Chelsea visits Fulham at Craven Cottage in the league debut of the two Spanish coaches, former teammates at Liverpool, Real Madrid, and the national team.
Fulham - Chelsea, live: Xabi Alonso and Arbeloa debut face to face in the Premier
The Fulham-Chelsea match this Monday has a special protagonist on the benches. Xabi Alonso manages Chelsea and Álvaro Arbeloa manages Fulham in the first match for both as coaches in the Premier League.
The match takes place at Craven Cottage and started at 21:00 hours in Spain. DAZN offers the match live. Chelsea itself had officially set the start at 20:00 hours in the United Kingdom.
The duel brings together two coaches who shared a locker room for years. Alonso and Arbeloa first coincided at Liverpool, then at Real Madrid, and also with the Spanish national team.
From teammates to rivals on the benches
Their careers as coaches have crossed in London after both left Real Madrid.
Xabi Alonso faces a new stage at the helm of Chelsea. The London club has started the season with the aim of recovering positions after a previous irregular season and has made a deep renewal of the squad.
Arbeloa, for his part, now manages Fulham after the departure of Marco Silva. The former defender thus begins his first experience as head coach in the Premier.
The match also has the character of a derby. Fulham and Chelsea are barely separated by a few kilometers in west London, which makes the debut of both Spaniards one of the highlighted matches of the first round.
Xabi Alonso begins his new stage at Chelsea
In the preview, Alonso insisted on the need to start the season with good rhythm after a preparation conditioned by the staggered incorporation of several internationals.
The Spanish coach has recovered players like Levi Colwill and also has some of Chelsea's new signings to begin his official stage in England.
Arbeloa faces a different challenge. Fulham starts with a more stable structure and seeks to consolidate itself in the Premier under a coach who knows English football well from his time as a Liverpool player.