Marcos Alonso is at a loss as to how to go about beating his Chelsea side, although he’s got a perfect career record against the Blues himself.
Antonio Conte’s men showed great reserves of grit and determination to defeat Middlesbrough 1-0 at the Riverside Stadium on Sunday.
In his spell at Boro’s north-east neighbours Sunderland in 2014, Alonso came up against his current employers twice and came out on the winning side both times.
Two years on Alonso, a crucial part of Conte’s system in fulfilling the role of wing-back on the left side, can’t spot a chink in the Chelsea armour as were exposed in those wins.
Speaking after the win on Teesside, he said, “I’ve played twice against Chelsea and won both games!”
“With the players we have now, the way we are playing and the way we get to the game with the right focus and concentration, it’s very hard to beat us at the moment.
“If we keep going like this it’s going to be tough for others teams, but we’ve just got to keep doing the hard work during the week.”
Alonso is at the peak of the upward curve of his career and is now a regular in a team that have legitimate designs on the Premier League title.
“I’ve been working to become an important player in a team like this,” he said.
“I never knew it would happen but as I say I’m happy to be here helping the team and now just looking forward to next week.”
The 25 year-old feels that a midweek spent recovering, as opposed to next Saturday’s opponents Tottenham who are in Champions League action at Monaco, will benefit the Chelsea squad.
“Tottenham is going to be a massive three points for us, we have now to rest tomorrow and start getting ready for Saturday.
“In three days you can recover very well, maybe it can be an advantage for us.
“The players and the fans remind me about how important the London derby is and hopefully we keep winning at home against them.”
