“To be honest…” – Xabi Alonso on long international break

Chelsea look to have taken advantage of the extended international break to get things straight after a wobble.

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The three week international break that we’ve just had was an interesting change to the usual football calendar we’re all used to.

The extended break will have helped some teams more than others, and for the BBC today Nizaar Kinsella speculates that Chelsea may have been the big winners. After a bright start under Xabi Alonso, the Blues had faltered, and the break gave them a crucial chance to recover their injured players and get things right again.

They returned with a 5-1 battering of Bournemouth, and to improve things even further they have had a free midweek while their rivals bounced straight to European duty.

Chelsea to be tested with Saturday early kick off

Moises Caicedo of Chelsea controls the ball (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

“The international break was a long time. We had time to work, to fix the mistakes against Brentford, and we got a great result,” striker Joao Pedro said. He was one of a number of players who pulled out of national team duty over the break for some extra recovery time.

The biggest factor, however, was the return of Moises Caicedo, who was able to make his first start of the season and played a crucial role in helping his team to a comfortable win. “With Moi on the pitch, everything looks in place,” Alonso admitted after the game.

The Blues play Everton in the early kick off this weekend, where we will get a better idea of whether they really did gain a major edge over the competition.