Before Chelsea's home derby with Tottenham on Saturday, The Independent profiled Jordan Henderson's role in Xabi Alonso's side. Henderson, 36, followed Danny Welbeck, 35, through the door at Stamford Bridge in early August and has formed a midfield partnership with Moises Caicedo.
Henderson's recent run
Welbeck's starts have been limited to the Carabao Cup, apart from a 71-minute cameo in the 3-0 loss at Brentford. Henderson, by contrast, has started and played the entirety of Chelsea's last three outings.
In Chelsea's last two games, Henderson covered 11.9km against Bournemouth and 12km against Everton. Against Bournemouth, he scored two goals and made an assist. The Independent reported that one of his goals in that game was the first direct free-kick goal of his career.
Alonso on Henderson's contribution
Alonso said: "He's 36, but he's in a very good shape physically."
Alonso said: "He's playing well, not for the goals he has, but for the impact that he's having in the team"
Alonso also said: "It helps for that experience and that composure that you need in certain moments. You have players that sometimes, even during the game, they take a step back to see, this is happening and now we need to keep focused and calm."
Chelsea's discipline
Alonso said he was aware of Chelsea's disciplinary record last season. The Independent said Chelsea received eight red cards last season, four more than the next highest team in the Premier League, and ranked second for yellow cards with 90 cautions.
Alonso said of Chelsea's disciplinary record last season: "We could do better"
He also said: "For me it comes a lot with emotional control, with the control of the game. I think that if you are focused on what you have to do, you are prepared for what's going on. Normally you don't make that many mistakes and you don't overreact to certain situations. For me this is a fundamental part of the game, to have that emotional control, to deal with all this. The momentum is coming, we keep calm, I don't lose my head and I don't get stupid yellow cards, make stupid penalties. You need to prepare for football to have better control of that."
Penders set for a run
Emi Martinez suffered a head injury against Everton and will be sidelined for a "few weeks" after undergoing surgery. The Independent reported that Mike Penders, 21, is set for an extended run in the team.
Alonso said: "If you know Mike, he's very calm, very mature for his age"
Alonso said he spoke to Courtois at the World Cup to get his assessment of Penders, and recalled: "He even said that he could see resemblances with Mike and himself."
On Tottenham's visit, Alonso said he is expecting an "electric" atmosphere.