Chelsea concluded their preseason tour of Oceania and Asia with a friendly against Johor Darul Ta'zim on Sunday, and the match came with a clear reminder of how quickly the workload had built up for Alonso's squad. After beating AC Milan in Indonesia just 24 hours earlier, Chelsea arrived in Malaysia with rotation and freshness firmly in view.
That made this more than a routine summer fixture. Chelsea were described as being in transition under Alonso, and the final stop of the tour offered another chance to assess how the group was coping across the demands of travel, recovery and selection. In that sense, Johor Darul Ta'zim provided a useful test at the end of a long week.
Johor Darul Ta'zim's own rhythm matters
Johor Darul Ta'zim were not coming into the game cold. Before Sunday, they had already played six friendlies and were unbeaten in five matches, with their last outing coming over a week earlier in a 2-0 win over Cartagena. That left them in a decent rhythm for a team preparing during its own preseason campaign.
There is also no shortage of expectation around the Malaysian side. Johor Darul Ta'zim have dominated domestically for years, and their 12 Malaysian Super League titles underline the level they have established before another meeting with elite opposition.
Chelsea's quick turnaround was the main story
The sharper issue, though, was Chelsea's schedule. Beating AC Milan in Indonesia on Saturday meant there was little time for Alonso to reset the squad before Sunday’s match in Malaysia. For a side still finding its shape, that made the friendly a practical examination of squad depth as much as quality.
That is why the result mattered less than the process. Chelsea had already shown they could get through one test against AC Milan, but the short turnaround meant the final fixture on the tour was really about managing the group correctly and keeping standards high even at the end of a long trip.
For Johor Darul Ta'zim, it was another chance to measure themselves against major European opposition. For Chelsea, it was the closing chapter of a tour that stretched across Oceania and Asia, and a reminder that preseason is often as much about handling the calendar as it is about handling the opponent.
