Reggie Watson played every minute of Xabi Alonso’s first game as Chelsea manager. Nobody else in a Chelsea shirt did.
The 16-year-old midfielder started and finished Chelsea’s 6-4 win over Western Sydney Wanderers in the Sydney Super Cup at Accor Stadium, going the distance while academy teammates, fringe first-teamers and eventually Alonso’s senior stars rotated around him.
Reggie Watson was the only Chelsea player to complete all 90 minutes in Xabi Alonso’s first match as manager, a 6-4 win over Western Sydney Wanderers.
Alonso explained why afterward, telling Chelsea’s official website that Romeo Lavia, the senior midfielder expected to anchor the rebuild in midfield, was left out as a precaution.
“He felt something in the hamstring,” Alonso said. “Not a big thing and, hopefully, we are expecting him to be fit for Saturday [against Tottenham Hotspur]. But there was no point in taking risks today, which is why Reggie Watson played 90 minutes and did well.”
Xabi Alonso confirmed Romeo Lavia was rested with a hamstring concern, clearing playing time for 16-year-old academy midfielder Reggie Watson.
Watson started in central midfield alongside Dario Essugo and fellow 16-year-old Reggie Walsh, part of a starting XI built heavily from Cobham graduates in front of a back line featuring Josh Acheampong and Tosin. He stayed on when Alonso sent on Cole Palmer, Estevao, Jamie Gittens and Joao Pedro from the 64th minute — the kind of substitution wave that usually ends a teenager’s night, not extends it.
It wasn’t a clean night. Sky Sports reported that with Western Sydney leading 4-3 and ten minutes left, Estevao’s loose pass caught Watson short in his own half, and substitute Awan Lual punished it. Joao Pedro then scored a nine-minute hat-trick to turn a scrappy pre-season friendly into a 6-4 win — but the mistake happened on Watson’s watch, and Alonso didn’t take him off for it.
That’s the detail worth sitting with. A 16-year-old looking sharp in a July friendly against an A-League side that finished bottom of its table last season isn’t unusual. Being kept on the pitch through a defensive error that led straight to a goal is a different kind of statement about where he stands with his new manager.
Reggie Watson has scored four goals for Chelsea’s Under-18s in the 2025/26 Premier League U18 season and has represented England at Under-15 level.
Watson joined Chelsea from Crystal Palace at Under-15 level and has since developed into a regular for the club’s Under-18s. Tuesday was his first extended look under the manager who will eventually decide whether he plays senior football at all.
Chelsea face Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, then travel to face Juventus in Hong Kong just over a week later, as Alonso’s first pre-season tour continues.
