Chelsea beats Western Sydney Wanderers 6-4 in preseason

Xabi Alonso's tenure as Chelsea manager began with a dramatic 6-4 preseason victory over Australia's Western Sydney Wanderers on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, at Sydney's Accor Stadium. The match was defined by a late, nine-minute hat-trick from Brazilian forward Joao Pedro, who came off the bench to secure the win in a ten-goal thriller.

Chelsea took an early lead in the seventh minute through 17-year-old Kazakh forward Dastan Satpaev, who finished coolly after a defense-splitting pass from Ryan Kavuma-McQueen. The Wanderers responded quickly, with Anthony Pantazopoulos heading an equalizer in the 14th minute. The home side continued to exploit Chelsea's defensive lapses, taking a 2-1 lead through Aydan Hammond's curled effort in the 32nd minute. Chelsea leveled just before halftime when midfielder Dario Essugo finished a flowing move to make it 2-2.

The second half saw the Wanderers regain the lead twice. Dylan Scicluna capitalized on a defensive error to make it 3-2 in the 62nd minute, and after Chelsea substitute Jamie Gittens equalized, teenage striker Awan Lual put the Wanderers ahead 4-3 in the 78th minute. The introduction of senior players Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro after the...