Xabi Alonso, Chelsea coach of Real Madrid, looks on during the Spanish League, LaLiga EA Sports, football match played between Deportivo Alaves and Real Madrid at Mendizorroza Stadium on December 14, 2025, in Vitoria, Spain. Vitoria Spain - ZUMAa181 20251214_zaa_a181_219 Copyright: xIrinaxR.xHipolitox
Xabi Alonso, Chelsea coach of Real Madrid, looks on during the Spanish League, LaLiga EA Sports, football match played between Deportivo Alaves and Real Madrid at Mendizorroza Stadium on December 14, 2025, in Vitoria, Spain. Vitoria Spain - ZUMAa181 20251214_zaa_a181_219 Copyright: xIrinaxR.xHipolitox
Chelsea suffered a disappointing 2-0 defeat to Tottenham on Saturday at Stamford Bridge, handing Xabi Alonso his first home defeat as Chelsea head coach.
The game was goalless at half-time before Tottenham took the lead in the 77th minute. A corner went in off the hand of goalkeeper Mike Penders, who was starting in place of the injured Emiliano Martinez.
Three minutes later, Cole Palmer was sent off for a stamp on Conor Gallagher, receiving a second yellow card. It was the first red card of his senior career, and Mathys Tel added a second goal in the 87th minute.
Palmer’s suspension rules him out of Wednesday’s Carabao Cup tie at Liverpool.
Chelsea were also without their top scorer Joao Pedro, who missed the game after a problem in training the day before.
Liverpool enjoyed a better weekend. Andoni Iraola won his first Premier League game at Anfield as head coach, beating Brighton 2-0 on Sunday.
Florian Wirtz’s shot, deflected in by Pascal Gross, opened the scoring. Alexander Isak made it two four minutes later, finishing a Bradley Barcola cross, and the victory was Liverpool’s fourth in a row in all competitions.
Chelsea now head to Anfield with their attack stretched, and Alonso is unsure whether Pedro will be fit for the fourth-round tie on Wednesday.
Asked after the Tottenham defeat how serious the Brazilian’s injury was, Alonso said: “We don’t know yet because he has a lot of fluid.”
“He felt it yesterday [Friday] and we need to wait probably until tomorrow to do the test and to know the whole situation and the whole seriousness of the injury. We will know soon enough.”
Pedro has been central to Chelsea’s season, with five goals and three assists in six league starts. He had played a full match against Everton before the problem appeared, and no result from the tests had been reported at the time of writing.
Chelsea are already without Palmer, who issued an apology after the match and said his red card was not good enough. The pair were key to the side’s progress in the last round, a 6-3 win over Leeds United in which Palmer and Danny Welbeck each scored twice.
Liverpool have their own selection concerns. Wirtz went off after 65 minutes against Brighton with an ankle problem and was replaced by Trey Nyoni.
Iraola said the injury “doesn’t look very big”, but he added that Liverpool play every three days and need to see where Wirtz is. Dominik Szoboszlai and Jeremie Frimpong remain out with hamstring injuries.
Liverpool reached this stage with a 3-1 home win over Tottenham in the third round. They then host Arsenal at Anfield on Sunday.
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