​Alonso has selection problem: Winger could go two months without Chelsea minutesXabi Alonso rotated his team slightly for last night’s game, but soon returned to his preferred selection to win in.If you enjoy Talk Chelsea coverage and want to see more of it, add us as a preferred source on Google to make us a favourite and see more of our content.Simon Johnson’s piece for the Athletic makes a great point about Xabi Alonso team selection and how the newly changed international breaks will affect it. Assuming B team players aren’t going to start until the fourth round of this competition, they now have a full 7 weeks out of the team before the end of October when those games are played.Of course some will get chances off the bench in the league games before that, and some will be on international duty so they might not notice the gap as much. But others are just going to be training and waiting.Chelsea squad players could go months without startsLONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 09: Xabi Alonso, Manager of Chelsea, reacts during the Carabao Cup Third Round match between Chelsea and Leeds United at Stamford Bridge on September 09, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)For someone like Estevao, who was desperate for a starting chance but was then hauled off at half time, it’s going to feel like an eternity before the next game.And what of Geovany Quenda? He’s behind Estevao, and didn’t get a minute last night. He could easily make it to November without featuring at all. Johnson’s piece says he’s not injured. But we haven’t seen him since the opening day, when he played a grant total of 8 minutes against Fulham.In other news…Mike Penders’ double save against Leeds had everybody coo-ing, and rightly so. Every time he plays, he has to ramp up the pressure on Emi Martinez.Valentin Barco started yesterday and looked really impressive in midfield, even when Chelsea had some difficulties in the first half. He’s done all he can to earn a starting place in the league.