Xabi Alonso was Chelsea’s manager when the club began the 2026–27 Premier League season with a 3–2 win at Fulham.
Chelsea’s victory at Craven Cottage gave Alonso a winning start to his tenure in charge of the club. The Monday-night derby was the final fixture of the opening Premier League match round.
João Pedro scored Chelsea’s first goal, Morgan Rogers made it 2–1 before half-time, and Cole Palmer added the third after the interval. Fulham responded through Josh King and Gonzalo García, but Alonso’s side preserved the one-goal margin.
The match also featured a managerial debut for Álvaro Arbeloa in Fulham’s dugout. That makes the fixture easy to misread: Arbeloa was the Fulham manager, whereas Alonso led Chelsea. The result was therefore a winning Chelsea debut for Alonso, not Arbeloa.