Alonso defends Estevao's Anfield absence as Chelsea exit Carabao Cup on penalties

Xabi Alonso has defended his decision to leave Estevao on the bench throughout Chelsea’s Carabao Cup fourth-round defeat to Liverpool at Anfield, with the Blues exiting on penalties despite the Brazilian forward being available.

Estevao was not called upon even as Alonso managed without injured forward Joao Pedro and suspended Cole Palmer, instead starting Morgan Rogers, Danny Welbeck and Pedro Neto in attack. The Chelsea head coach made only four of his five permitted substitutions, with just one of those changes involving an attacker — Emmanuel Emegha coming on to make his debut in place of Welbeck.

Alonso explained that in-game fitness concerns forced his hand in midfield and defence, leaving him with little room to introduce Estevao offensively. Moises Caicedo, Malo Gusto and Maxence Lacroix all had to be replaced, with Lacroix limping off with a hamstring issue that could place him in doubt for Saturday’s Premier League fixture against Manchester United.

“We started with Pedro, with Danny and with Morgan up front,” Alonso said. “The game had very intense moments. We knew that it was going to be physical and after we had to deal with Max, Moi had little problems. Malo as well, he had cramps. We were a little bit forced with substitutions.”

He added: “The season is going to be long, and there will be moments for everyone.”

The explanation does little to disguise a difficult start to the campaign for Estevao, who is yet to make a Premier League start this season, having managed just 53 minutes across six substitute appearances. The 19-year-old had been handed Carabao Cup starts in Chelsea’s previous two rounds as a route to regular minutes, but was passed over at Anfield alongside fellow unused substitute Geovany Quenda, who had started the weekend’s defeat to Tottenham.

Alonso’s preferred system — built around wing-backs and narrow attacking midfielders — appears to be a structural obstacle for Estevao. Pedro Neto’s ability to operate both as a wing-back and in the front three has seen the Portuguese winger establish himself ahead of the Brazilian in the pecking order.

Estevao had shown flashes of his quality during his debut season at Chelsea last year, scoring eight goals in all competitions including a memorable strike in a 3-0 win over Barcelona. A hamstring injury then ruled him out of Brazil’s summer World Cup squad, and he has yet to fully recapture that momentum under Alonso.