Marcos Alonso, Chelsea ready to make things right after Crystal Palace shock

For only the second time since Antonio Conte took charge last season, Chelsea have suffered back-to-back losses in the Premier League. The first time, Chelsea responded to the back-to-back defeats by Liverpool and Arsenal with a 13-game winning streak. What will the response be this time after back-to-back defeats by Manchester City and Crystal Palace?

One win would do for now, which is exactly what Chelsea are aiming for, according to Marcos Alonso who had the honor to be chosen as the pre-match press conference participant for this game.

"We have been recovering well for three days and hopefully we are going to do a much better game tomorrow. The team is looking forward to this game because it’s a good opportunity for us to change things in terms of the last game. Motivation is high for tomorrow and we will try to get the three points."

"We have had a good start in the Champions League. We have to keep playing this way and tomorrow is a good chance to make things a bit better after the last couple of games in the Premier League, and to get closer to what we want, which is to finish the group as the first team."

After the Palace loss, the usual good vibes of the squad and the head coach were replaced by anger and disappointment, as Conte apparently “ripped” into his squad behind the closed doors of the dressing room. It was nothing less than they deserved of course—and will hopefully result in a properly motivated and committed team tonight.

“It’s the truth. It wasn’t our best game on Saturday. It’s a good call from him to motivate us and to make us work to change things from the last performance. Football is a sport that changes very quickly and tomorrow is a good chance to do a good performance and build up from there. The only solution is to work hard and win the next one.”

While there are plenty of factors we could look to blame — busy schedule, injuries (which Alonso chalked up simply to bad luck), etc — at the end of the day, we can only look at ourselves. Now, more than ever, it’s time to work hard, fight, pay attention ... and win.