There was one lone Chelsea fan shouting obscenities at the Tottenham Hotspur team bus a little after full-time. You’re effing this, effing that, a bunch of so-and-sos and what-nots.
Basically a stream so filthy that, if repeated here, it might prompt the reader who emails me a telling-off every time I mention a swearword in copy to throw his computer out of his window.
Trouble is, nobody was on it. Just the driver and the chef prepping the Tottenham players’ din dins for their drive home. It was parking by the mixed zone in preparation for picking up the winning squad. The bloke was wrecking his voice at an empty bus.
It was that kind of afternoon for all associated with Chelsea. Whatever outcome they hoped to achieve, they wound up looking foolish, and so to Xabi Alonso and his tactics.
Chelsea’s record against Tottenham at Stamford Bridge was ridiculous: one Premier League away win in their last 34 visits. Spurs had secured only one victory this season, and that was aided by Coventry goalkeeper Carl Rushworth. They were supposed to still be relegation candidates after this.
Xabi Alonso could only watch as his side failed to assert their authority on the game
Yet Chelsea never looked like winning. They had the odd chance. Pedro Neto came closest when he belted the ball at Antonin Kinsky. But it was all a passive exercise, and that was on Alonso, whose approach betrayed what this derby is supposed to be about: defeating their detested rivals.
His tactical set-up was not befitting of a club that say they want to be competing with the biggest and best soon enough. They showed no authority, no ingenuity, no sense that they were prepared to make the most of what little possession they had as the ball was hoofed in hope amid their 32 per cent.
The one time they pieced together a few first-time passes, Jordan Henderson tested Antonin Kinsky from outside of the box. Otherwise, it was all too mundane for those supporters who had grown used to seeing them exert their dominance over Tottenham down the years.
If we see a similar approach against Manchester United next weekend, it would be surprising, because Alonso lost a great deal of the goodwill that he had gained from the match-going fans with this performance.
It was poor enough to conclude that Chelsea have no right to be considered contenders until they show greater initiative in games, though Alonso’s tactics were not the only reason for this limp loss, as Cole Palmer cannot say he is earning his new contract bump as of yet.
Palmer brings back naive nonsense
Chelsea’s disciplinary record under Enzo Maresca contributed to them finishing tenth in the Premier League last season. August, September and October last term saw them receive six red cards, including one for Maresca. They had yet to go down to ten men under Alonso.
Yet Palmer had already threatened to bring back that naivety. He had risked a second yellow away at Everton last weekend, sliding in on Jarrad Branthwaite when Chelsea were already leading 2-0 after 100 minutes. Henderson appeared to have a word with him about that silliness after full-time at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
He got away with it there but not here, and we can have no sympathy with Palmer.
Cole Palmer was given his marching orders for standing on Conor Gallagher’s ankle
He deserved his first yellow for barging into Mateus Fernandes when he grabbed the ball to kill a Chelsea attack. Palmer’s frustration may have partially lain in how he had hardly had a chance to get at Tottenham, so he reacted aggressively.
Despite him shaking his head as he walked to the tunnel in the 80th minute, his second booking was clear, too. Conor Gallagher won the ball, and Palmer stood on his ankle. Alonso initially adopted the Arsene Wenger response by saying he had not seen it, but did concede he had been told it was the correct call from the referee.
We have seen before how Chelsea players like to rough up the odd alumnus. Usually it was Enzo Fernandez leading that charge. After Palmer’s second yellow, Morgan Rogers likewise gave Gallagher a kicking, which Sky Sports co-commentator Gary Neville reckoned deserved a red. It all made for a flashback to last term under Maresca.
The only silver lining to Palmer now being suspended for Chelsea’s trip to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup this Wednesday is it should give Estevao a rare starting opportunity to impress.
Jackson wows while Chelsea miss Joao
Losing Joao Pedro to an injury in their final training session was a blow, of course it was. But it is how you handle his absence which tells us the true strength of a side.
Alonso bizarrely did not bring in Danny Welbeck as a like-for-like replacement. He shuffled his pack and started Geovany Quenda, who did not do enough with his 72 minutes from wide.
Nicolas Jackson playing so well for Aston Villa earlier in the day – scoring twice as they downed Maresca’s Manchester City – was bad timing for Chelsea. We can understand why he was sold to Villa for £65million in the summer. Jackson wanted to be a starter, and that was not going to happen while Chelsea had Joao Pedro as a striker.
Geovany Quenda came in wide with Joao Pedro absent but failed to make an impact
But the lack of stand-in was alarming, as was Alonso’s call not to bring in a proven focal point at the top of his team to try to hold up the ball like Jackson would have done.
We do not yet know how long the Brazilian will be sidelined with his injury still being assessed by Chelsea. A source close to Joao Pedro’s camp said they too do not yet have a timeframe.
Chelsea’s corner tactics couldn’t save Penders
One of the questions I asked Alonso at his pre-Tottenham press conference was to do with Penders and whether he hoped Chelsea’s supporters would understand that he is only a 21-year-old understudy who may make mistakes – say from set-pieces.
‘There will be good moments, and there will be tough moments,’ he said within his answer. Here was a tough one. Penders was starting in the Premier League for the first time, filling in for the injured Emiliano Martinez, who was sat behind the bench at Stamford Bridge.
He had coped well, punching clear a cross within two minutes. He denied Omar Marmoush, and Mathys Tel. At Tottenham corners, Chelsea sent four players up the pitch – Palmer, Morgan Rogers, Pedro Neto and Geovany Quenda – to ease the congestion in the box. That idea, courtesy of set-piece specialist Austin MacPhee, was partially intended to help Penders.
Mike Penders tried to clear the ball but punched it into his own net to give Spurs the lead
Maxence Lacroix could not save his goalkeeper, who could only watch on in agony
Yet then Spurs won a corner in the 77th minute. The Chelsea fans to the right of the press box were angry with the referee’s assistant. A member of staff was told by the fourth official to go retrieve a Lucozade bottle which had been thrown at the man with the flag at one stage. Their anger was because they thought Dominic Solanke was offside in the build-up to it being won.
Except the replays showed Solanke was onside, played on by Levi Colwill, and Spurs’ corner led to Penders punching the ball into his own net. He may have been partially distracted by Jan Paul van Hecke, who was allowed a free run at him after being left by his marker, Maxence Lacroix.
Penders knew the magnitude of his mistake. He smashed a water bottle into the ground in anger at himself. Chelsea have a promising goalkeeper, but one who is still prone to errors, and they must persist with their young fill-in until Martinez is fit to return.
Chelsea nearly signed Tel once upon a time. He joined Tottenham instead. He gave Josh Acheampong a tough afternoon, and Lacroix did not cover himself in glory when Tel scored Tottenham’s second goal. The defensive issues remain for Alonso.
