5 Things Learned As Chelsea Suffer 2-1 Pre-Season Defeat To Tottenham | OneFootball

Spurs edge out Chelsea in pre-season friendly in Australia. Video Credit: Absolute Chelsea

Chelsea suffered a 2-1 defeat to 10-man Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday evening in Sydney, closing out their Australia leg on the losing side.

As expected, Xabi Alonso named a strong line-up for the London derby. Dario Essugo and young goalkeeper Teddy Sharman-Lowe were the only two players to keep their starting spots from the win over Western Sydney Wanderers.

The latter would likely have been replaced had it not been for Robert Sanchez’s injury absence.

Unfortunately, Spurs struck first. Sandro Tonali opened the scoring for the north London side in the 17th minute, as his deflected shot off Levi Colwill caught Sharman-Lowe wrong-footed.

But it did not take long for Chelsea to level the score. Jamie Gittens found Estevao, who made an excellent run off Andy Robertson at the back post, with his cross. The Brazilian international did not waste his chance, heading past Antonin Kinsky.

Joao Pedro (front right) applauding Chelsea's leveller. REUTERS/Hollie Adams

Chelsea got a rare advantage early in the second half after Spurs defender Kevin Danso was shown a red card for a foul on Joao Pedro in the 49th minute, just three minutes after coming on as a substitute.

But they were unable to make it count, as Kinsky produced three fine saves to ensure neither Estevao nor Joao Pedro could double Chelsea's goal count.

It ended in disappointing fashion for Chelsea, who failed to exploit their man advantage and ended up losing the match after Richarlison scored a stoppage-time goal with a tap-in.

Alonso made seven changes for the final 10 minutes as Chelsea searched for a winner, but the defence was caught off guard late on.

Here are five things learned from Chelsea's defeat to Tottenham in Sydney.

A competitive friendly game

While it was a pre-season game, it was still a London derby, after all, and both sides understood it.

Players attempted tackles with intent, made runs to get into defending positions, and looked very frustrated when they failed to convert their chances.

Spurs made several strong challenges early on, including Conor Gallagher's late foul on Dario Essugo, in which he was fortunate to only be cautioned with a yellow card.

This was exactly the type of pre-season game that Alonso would want to test his players heading into the season.

Chelsea defended deep

Rather than a high-pressing game that many expected from Alonso’s Chelsea side, the team played a low defensive line in a 4-4-2 structure off the ball.

While this presented some counter-attacking chances, with Cole Palmer staying high, it clearly put the defensive line under a lot of pressure when dealing with second balls.

Alonso was animated on the touchline throughout against Spurs. REUTERS/Hollie Adams

Chelsea pushed their line higher once Spurs went down to 10 men, but the players clearly had a hard time defending in the first half.

Lack of depth in midfield

Chelsea’s defensive problems in this game were exacerbated by Romeo Lavia and Dario Essugo’s underwhelming performance in midfield.

It was too easy for Spurs, at times, and Alonso will be hoping to tighten up the midfield over the coming games to prepare for the new season.

After high praise from Alonso, it was deemed too early for Moises Caicedo, who recently joined the squad for pre-season following his break after the World Cup.

Enzo Fernandez also remains on extended leave after representing Argentina in the 2026 World Cup, so Alonso is not exactly spoilt for choice in midfield.

Gittens’ strong pre-season

If there was a positive to take for Chelsea in this game, it would be Gittens’ promising display.

After missing the majority of the second half of last season due to a hamstring tear, the winger has now picked up his form and looked really bright on the left flank, running at defenders and picking up an assist for Estevao's goal.

Summer signing Morgan Rogers is still expected to be the first-choice left winger this season. Even so, Gittens has certainly put himself in a good position to compete for the spot, especially with Mykhailo Mudryk possibly entering the picture, too.

Several players understandably still need more minutes under their belt to be ready for the new season.

Romeo Lavia and Jorrel Hato both were given their first minutes in pre-season after missing the Western Sydney Wanderers win.

The front four of Gittens, Estevao, Cole Palmer, and Joao Pedro, on the other hand, continued to sharpen up and were given a big run-out to build up their match fitness.

Chelsea have four more pre-season games before the season, three of which will be in Asia, so Alonso will have time to raise the squad’s fitness level.