Karen Carney was full of praise for Chelsea star Marcos Alonso for his “amazing” role in the 2-0 win against Tottenham on Wednesday night.
Thomas Tuchel’s Blues now have a two-goal advantage going into next week’s second leg against Spurs in the Carabao Cup semi-finals.
They comfortably dispatched of Spurs at Stamford Bridge, but the job is only half done in a bid to reach the domestic cup final.
Kai Havertz’s opener was his fifth goal of the season, while Ben Davies deflected in an own goal.
BBC pundit Carney believes that Chelsea’s breakthrough goal was largely down to the aggression from their 31-year-old full-back Alonso. His front-foot pressing regained possession for his side before he assisted the Havertz strike with a perfectly weighted pass into the penalty box.
“Brilliant start from Chelsea. This goal is all about Alonso, he’s aggressive, snaps onto it and takes a touch. His pass is amazing,” Carney told BBC Radio 5 Live.
Alonso continues to defy Chelsea critics
Yes, Alonso isn’t always the most pleasing player on the eye that’s occasionally caught out defensively. However, he’s a brilliant long-term servant for the club who can be such a threat going forward.
The £24million star is usually so effective in Tuchel’s 3-4-3 system in the left wing-back role, but still managed to show his quality in a traditional left-back postilion when the manager switched to a back four against Spurs.
His record of 25 goals and 20 assists in 190 Chelsea appearances from full-back is eye-catching.
Alonso is going to need some help in the second half of the season, though.
His usual competition Ben Chilwell is sidelined through injury for the rest of the campaign, so Everton’s Lucas Digne is a left-back that’s been linked to rival and rotate with Alonso.
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