Tottenham Beat 10-Man Chelsea 2-0 as Xabi Alonso Admits Standards Slipped

Tottenham Hotspur ended a long wait for a Premier League win at Stamford Bridge with a 2-0 victory over Chelsea, as the hosts finished the derby with 10 men and manager Alonso accepted his side had fallen below the required standard.

Quick facts

• Tottenham won 2-0 at Stamford Bridge.
• Goalkeeper Penders scored an own goal in the 77th minute on his first Premier League start.
• Cole Palmer was dismissed three minutes later after receiving two yellow cards.
• Mathys Tel added Tottenham’s late second goal.
• Spurs rose to 12th in the Premier League following their second league win of the season.

Alonso said Chelsea had been disappointed by both the result and their overall display, describing shortcomings across the team rather than isolating any one player. He felt the match swung on Tottenham taking the first goal, with Chelsea then finding the contest harder after Palmer’s sending-off.

“We are all disappointed with the result,” Alonso said. “Collectively and individually, we were not at our best level. It was about the first goal and it went their way and with 10 men it was difficult, but we can do better.”

The Chelsea manager believed opportunities had been limited at both ends. He said his players had discussed the need for patience and maturity during the interval, but could not create enough to alter the match.

Alonso had selected Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers with the intention of giving Chelsea more control and invention through central spaces. The plan was for the pair to operate in pockets between Tottenham’s lines, though the hosts could not consistently turn those positions into clear chances.

“We wanted to have this fluidity in the middle,” Alonso said. “We wanted the pockets filled with Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers. There were situations, but overall we have to do better.”

Penders endured a difficult first league appearance after being called in following Emi Martinez’s fractured jaw. The young goalkeeper put Tottenham ahead in the 77th minute when, under pressure from Jan Paul van Hecke at a corner, he punched the ball into his own net.

Alonso defended the goalkeeper afterwards, insisting the setback had to be viewed as a collective failure. “We feel for everyone,” he said. “It is a team thing, a collective. We have to move on.”

Any realistic prospect of a Chelsea response disappeared three minutes later. Palmer, already booked for barging Mateus Fernandes, was shown a second yellow card for a late challenge on former Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher.

Asked for his view on the two cautions, Alonso said he had not yet reviewed the incidents. Tottenham then made their numerical advantage count, with Mathys Tel scoring late to complete the 2-0 result.

The result was especially significant for Spurs given their record in west London. Before this match, they had won only once in 36 previous league visits to Stamford Bridge, drawing 11 and losing 24.

That previous league success came on 1 April 2018, when Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham beat Antonio Conte’s Chelsea 3-1. Before then, Spurs had not won a league match at the ground since Terry Venables led them to a 2-1 First Division victory over Bobby Campbell’s Chelsea in February 1990.

Tottenham’s derby win followed their first league victory of the campaign against Coventry City on Monday and lifted them into 12th place. Chelsea, meanwhile, must respond quickly after a night in which their attacking plan failed to take hold and a costly sequence after the hour decided the contest.