Chelsea Training and Press Conference
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Not many saw a 2-0 Tottenham away win coming on Saturday evening, and yet Xabi Alonso practically gifted Spurs all three points as the Chelsea gaffer got his tactics completely wrong.
The absence of Joao Pedro wreaked havoc when it came to selecting his Chelsea side. Alonso had one job, and that was to replace the missing focal point of the side with another: in veteran Danny Welbeck.
Losing Pedro is not something that can be helped, but Welbeck at least keeps Tottenham’s back line busy. But Alonso overthought things and started with Rogers up top. Geovany Quenda started, inexplicably.
It backfired tremendously. Tottenham overran Chelsea in midfield, with Joe Cole pointing the finger at Moises Caicedo and Jordan Henderson. Tottenham’s defence had all the time in the world on the ball.
The pressure is on Xabi Alonso to learn from mistakes quickly
But by far and away, Alonso’s biggest mistake was instructing his side to sit back and attempt to hit Spurs on the counter. It simply handed Spurs control – boasting too much quality to let Chelsea have it.
Alonso’s thought process might have been similar to the win over Brighton; that Chelsea would break with speed and score goals while Brighton’s players were in Chelsea territory. That did not happen.
Tottenham’s midfield is oozing with class, and instead of conceding possession and allowing counter-attack situations, they simply kept it and created chances. Chelsea’s overall possession was a measly 31%.
Since details like possession were recorded, the number is the lowest amount of possession Chelsea have clocked up in the history of the fixture, both home and away. The second-worst was 32.7% back in 2017.
The major difference between Brighton and Tottenham games
Earlier this season, Chelsea beat Brighton 4-3 despite boasting just 26% of the ball. They were lethal on the counter; the obvious difference being the presence of Pedro, allowing Chelsea to retain territory.
However, Alonso made a fatal error in believing both games would end up similarly. He underestimated the quality of Spurs’ midfield. Against Brighton, Chelsea won the ball in Brighton’s half a huge 23 times.
Against Spurs, it was just nine. The fact of the matter is, Spurs keep the ball better than Brighton due to the quality of Sandro Tonali, Mateus Fernandes and James Maddison. That saw Spurs assert control.
It starved Chelsea, despite having 5% more of the ball than they did in the win over Brighton. Alonso did not give Tottenham’s midfield players the respect they deserve, and it cost Chelsea on Saturday night.
Is Alonso under pressure? Gary Lineker said he shouldn’t be just yet, after losing to Brentford 3-0. But he did say a few more of those kinds of results may change that – and the loss to Spurs was one of those.