Chelsea pre-season report: Who has impressed? What have we learned about Xabi Alonso after Western Sydney Wanderers opener?

Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso kicked off his reign and the club's pre-season schedule with a 6-4 victory over Western Sydney Wanderers on Tuesday.

Rather than start with what may become a familiar side, Alonso selected a starting lineup that featured just four first-team players.

The lack of experience showed as Chelsea found themselves behind to the A-League club on three occasions before a late-rally sealed a thrilling win.

Nevertheless, while there were clear positives and negatives to take from the performance, Alonso hinted after the game that he had "learned" plenty about his squad.

Here, Sports Mole looks at who impressed for Chelsea, and whether there was anything to take away from the victory over inferior opposition.

Chelsea 6-4 Western Sydney Wanderers: Who impressed for Xabi Alonso?

Joao Pedro was the player who received the headlines on Tuesday, and rightly so. His nine-minute hat-trick at the end of the game ultimately made the difference.

While the goals of the Brazil international were impressive in their own right, Pedro's assist for Jamie Gittens also caught the eye after he twisted and turned his way past several players before setting up his teammate for a routine finish.

Gittens, without a competitive appearance since the end of January, also impressed playing for a manager who seemingly rates him from his time at Bayer Leverkusen, when Gittens was representing Borussia Dortmund.

However, this was a game where some of Chelsea's prospects dazzled, most notably 16-year-old Reggie Watson.

The midfield starlet was the only Blues player to complete 90 minutes, and while there were good and bad moments in the engine room, the teenager enhanced his reputation and should have had at least one assist.

Ryan Kavuma-McQueen can be happy with his display on the right flank, but it was 17-year-old Dastan Satpaev who announced himself to Chelsea fans with a goal inside six minutes.

Satpaev, already a Kazakh superstar, was played through on goal and showed the composure of someone far older as he expertly lashed the ball inside the near post.

What have we learned about Xabi Alonso and Chelsea in pre-season?

The most notable thing to come from pre-season thus far is Alonso choosing to play with a 4-2-3-1 formation, rather than the expected 3-4-2-1.

With many of the squad still not ready to feature after the World Cup, that choice may be player dependent instead of the Spaniard making an early assessment of the group.

Nevertheless, it already shows his willingness to adapt to who he has at his disposal, and it may stem from not having a suitable partner for Moises Caicedo in the engine room at the present time.

Marco Palestra, a new signing from Atalanta BC, was perceived to be a potential replacement for left-back Marc Cucurella, but the Italian featured as a right-back on Tuesday.

Alonso is also seemingly willing to assess as many of the club's prospects as possible. His hand may have been forced to a certain extent, but BlueCo will want to make the most of having one of the world's best academies in the short and long term.

As many as nine players who have never started a senior game for Chelsea made an appearance in Sydney.

Although the experience that Jordan Henderson and Danny Welbeck will bring could prove vital to the development of this group, giving such opportunities to the youngsters is only going to benefit them in the long term.