Joao Pedro shines with three goals as Alonso begins Chelsea's journey with 6-4 win over Western Sydney Wanderers

Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso kicked off his time in charge with a thrilling 6-4 win over Western Sydney Wanderers on Tuesday. Brazilian striker Joao Pedro scored a quick hat-trick in the last minutes to secure the victory.

Alonso, who started his role on July 1, did not have many of his top players available for the pre-season tour. He used a young squad for 60 minutes at Stadium Australia.

The match was a rollercoaster, with Chelsea coming from behind three times. Seventeen-year-old Dastan Satpaev from Kazakhstan scored on his debut in the sixth minute. Chelsea's defense struggled, and the Wanderers took the lead twice before Portugal youth international Dario Essugo equalized at 2-2.

The Sydney team took the lead again, going up 3-2 and then 4-3 in the second half. That’s when Pedro stepped up and scored three goals to change the game.

This win gives Alonso a boost as he works to bring Chelsea back into contention for trophies after last season's disappointing 10th place finish and missing out on Europe.

The next challenge will be on Saturday when they face London rivals Tottenham Hotspur at the same venue. After that, they have friendlies lined up in Hong Kong, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

Chelsea has made four important signings this summer as they rebuild the team. They brought in attacking midfielder Morgan Rogers, winger Geovany Quenda, defender Marco Palestra, and striker Emmanuel Emegha.

Only Palestra from Italy, who joined from Serie A's Atalanta, is on the tour. The World Cup players like England's Reece James and Argentina's Enzo Fernandes are not available.

Alonso set up a 4-2-3-1 formation. He had Josh Acheampong, Liam Delap, and Tosin, who was captain, adding experience to a squad filled with young talents from Chelsea's academy.

Chelsea started strong when Satpaev broke free after a great pass from Ryan Kavuma-McQueen and finished powerfully at the near post.

But the lead was short-lived. The Wanderers’ Anthony Pantazopoulos scored with a header from a corner just eight minutes later, taking advantage of Chelsea’s weak defense.

This got the home side fired up. Aydan Hammond made it 2-1 with a calm finish after Chelsea's defense was caught off guard again.

Essugo scored a beautiful goal, finishing a nice move with a one-two off Reggie Walsh before slotting it into the far corner to level the game at halftime.

Chelsea fell asleep again after the break. Dylan Scicluna's skillful turn and finish put the Sydney team ahead 3-2 in the 62nd minute, prompting Alonso to make nine changes right away.

Cole Palmer and Pedro came on, raising the team's energy and setting the stage for an exciting finish filled with five more goals.