Part of the reason Ben Chilwell is such a perfect fit for Chelsea is because he is essentially a faster Marcos Alonso with better defensive skills.
Comparing Ben Chilwell to Marcos Alonso is not a smudge on Chilwell; rather, it’s a compliment. Chilwell has finally signed for Chelsea, the Blues finally have the one thing they need in addition to Alonso’s skillset; pace. Chilwell, as reported by many sources, has been Chelsea’s main left back target throughout the entire window. Many other left back names were thrown around, but Frank Lampard’s eyes never left Chilwell.
For many months, Chelsea fans viewed Emerson as the better solution to the team’s left back problem because he was faster. Therefore, it was a shock and an irritation to them to see Alonso continue to get the nod throughout the last year. It took a lot of matches and even more hours of self-realization for these fans to come to terms with the fact that Alonso is the better player. Alonso had everything Chelsea needed in a fullback, everything but one massive trait.
The Spaniard possesses intelligence, a good sense of positioning, excellent technique and superb link-up play. The one thing that Alonso doesn’t have—which is unfortunately something very essential for the position he plays—is speed. Chilwell has this pace, along with every other thing Alonso offers, though not quite to the same degree. Chilwell is five years younger than Alonso, so the England international still has a majority of his career ahead of him; he hasn’t even reached his peak.
Comparing their seasons, their numbers are very similar despite Chilwell playing 943 more minutes than Alonso. In defensive statistics, both players completed 1.6 tackles per game. Alonso edged Chilwell in interceptions per game, 1.1 and 1.0 respectively; they match each other in dribbles past per game (1.1), as well. Chilwell comfortably defeated Alonso for clearances per game 2.0 to 1.4 respectively. In eight more games, Chilwell secured 4 more clean sheets than Alonso. Chilwell did make two errors leading to shots too, whereas Alonso made none.
In passing statistics, Alonso squeaks by Chilwell in key passes per game, 1.4 to 1.3. One noticeable thing about these players’ passing numbers is that Chilwell tries to move the ball into attacking positions a lot more, but completes a lower percentage. Alonso, on the other hand, is a lot more picky with his moments to perform these crosses and chipped passes. Alonso beats Chilwell in completion percentages in many stats, but Chilwell beats him in value.
Alonso completed 42 percent (1.2) of his chipped passes per game last season compared to Chilwell’s 36 percent (2.1). In accurate long balls per game, Alonso completed 43 percent (1.4) and Chilwell completed 33 percent (2.0). Crossing was perhaps the only statistic that Alonso attempted more and completed more, finding a teammate on 30 percent of his crosses per game (1.1). In comparison, Chilwell’s numbers in the same category were 18 percent (0.7). The Englishman completed 78 percent (48.0) of his passes per game, Alonso completed 83 percent (41.7). The passing percentage is interesting because Alonso always seems to look for what he perceives to be the right passes and therefore attempts riskier passes. It is also worth noting that Alonso often being higher up the pitch means that a majority of his passes are in the final third and are therefore more difficult.
Alonso completed 63 percent (0.7) of his dribbles per game, compared to Chilwell’s 38 percent (0.7). Chilwell edges Alonso in aerials duels won per game at 60 percent (2.1) to 58 (2.3) respectively, which is not good enough for Alonso because he’s considerably taller, but the numbers show he contested more aerial duels. The ground duels statistic perhaps reflects Alonso’s deficiency the most. Chilwell won 45 percent (3.4) of his ground duels per game while Alonso won 53 percent (3.1). A closer look will show that Chilwell has contested a lot more ground duels, this is perhaps because of his ability to get back to defend quicker. The two left backs had the same number of goal involvements last season (6) albeit Alonso did it in seven less games. Of course, Alonso has scored a lot more goals for Chelsea (27) than Chilwell (9) has for Leicester City in their respective careers.
They are defenders after all so they should be graded as such. In games where Alonso has focused on defending he has done very well, but he hasn’t contributed as much offensively, likewise in games where he has focused on attacking he has lacked the speed to get back to also contribute defensively. Chilwell fixes this, and that is perhaps why he is the perfect left back for Chelsea. Many ignorant fans may call Chilwell a faster Alonso as an insult but make no mistake, it’s not.