Xabi Alonso Says Joao Pedro Is as Good as Haaland and Compares Him to Benzema

Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso says Joao Pedro reminds him of former Real Madrid star Karim Benzema, and rates the striker as good as Erling Haaland right now.

Alonso made the comparison on Friday, just a day before Chelsea host Hull at Stamford Bridge. The praise comes right after Joao Pedro picked up the Premier League's Player of the Month award for August, having scored two goals and set up two more in his first three games of the season.

Asked point blank if he sees Joao Pedro on the same level as Haaland, Alonso didn't hold back. "I would say yes," he told reporters. He added that when you look at the Premier League's best strikers, Joao Pedro belongs right up there with them.

The Chelsea manager then drew a direct line to Benzema, the man he coached at Real Madrid, who scored 354 goals in 658 appearances for the club. "In many things he reminds me of Benzema," Alonso said. "Because he is good in the box, he is good out of the box, he is good coming to the left side, he is good with the head."

He didn't stop there. Alonso called the 24-year-old "very complete and intelligent," and praised more than just his football. "He has been top. Not just football-wise, personality-wise. His maturity, his desire," he said, adding that Joao Pedro still has plenty of room to grow. "He is still young. He still has things to develop. But he has many, many absolutely outstanding qualities."

Joao Pedro scored 20 goals in 50 appearances for Chelsea last season, and his hot start this campaign has already earned him a recall to the Brazil squad, after Carlo Ancelotti had left him out for the World Cup. Alonso touched on that too, saying it clearly stung the player at the time. "It was painful for him," he said, "but that's way back. And we are now talking about other things, like what he is doing well and what he can do better."

Much of Joao Pedro's form this season has come alongside Cole Palmer and new signing Morgan Rogers, with the front three combining for six goals and four assists in just three league games. Speaking to Sky Sports, Joao Pedro explained why the trio work so well together. "We are very similar in the way we think," he said, "but also we are very different players, so I think we complete each other." He pointed out the balance in the front line, saying he plays more as a target man while Palmer and Rogers operate as creative No. 10s who like to carry the ball.