London: Chelsea face the prospect of losing Marcos Alonso for the next three games, including their FA Cup semi-final against Southampton, after the left-back was charged with violent conduct.
Alonso’s apparent stamp on Shane Long in Chelsea’s dramatic 3-2 Premier League victory over Southampton went unpunished, but he has now been charged retrospectively. Alonso has until 6pm on Wednesday night to respond to the Football Association charge, with fifth-placed Chelsea travelling to seventh-placed Burnley tomorrow night ahead of Sunday’s Wembley date with Southampton.
A three-game ban would also rule Alonso out of the Premier League trip to Swansea City on April 28.
The Burnley and Southampton games are particularly important for Chelsea and head coach Antonio Conte, as they try to salvage what has been a disappointing season. With Champions League qualification almost out of their reach, the club are aiming to finish as high as possible in the League and win the FA Cup.
The loss of Alonso would be a big blow to Conte as second-choice left-back Emerson Palmieri has started only two games all season, having suffering a serious knee injury with Roma. The Brazilian joined Chelsea in January
Chelsea will join the rest of the Premier League’s ‘Big Six’ in this summer’s International Champions Cup, which will be played across three continents.
The English sides will be joined by Bayern Munich, Juventus, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Paris St-Germain. Collectively, the clubs will play 27 games across 24 days in North America, Europe and Singapore. Chelsea and Arsenal will compete in Singapore and Sweden, while Liverpool, the two Manchester clubs and Tottenham Hotspur, are scheduled to play in the United States.
Manchester City open their tournament in Chicago against Borussia Dortmund on July 21, just six days after the World Cup final takes place. They then meet Liverpool in New Jersey in a replay of the Champions League quarter-final, followed by Bayern Munich in Miami a few days later.
— The Daily Telegraph
