Tottenham Hotspur ended their six-game Premier League losing run against Chelsea with a 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

Joao Pedro’s injury absence forced Xabi Alonso to come up with a new plan for the derby. Geovany Quenda came in to make his first Premier League start to replace the striker. Quenda, of course, is not a striker.

Instead, Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers led Chelsea’s attacking line, while Quenda, on the left, and Pedro Neto, on the right, provided the width.

Chelsea tried to play a much higher defensive line, pressing Tottenham in their defensive third. It worked on several occasions, mainly thanks to Moises Caicedo’s exceptional defensive prowess, but the visitors’ 70 per cent possession in the first half clearly showed that it did not go as hoped for the Blues.

Spurs also had more shot attempts (seven) than Chelsea (four) in the first half, forcing Mike Penders, who also made his full Premier League debut, to make two important saves to keep the game goalless at the break.

Alonso stuck with the system in the second half, but he tried introducing some fresh legs, Palestra and Estevao Willian, in the 65th and 73rd minutes, respectively. Neto also switched to the right flank to give Estevao his preferred right wing.

Unfortunately, a Penders own goal broke the deadlock in the 77th minute. The young goalkeeper tried to punch Mateus Fernandes’ corner kick clear, only for the ball to go over his own goal line.

It got even worse for Chelsea, with Palmer receiving a second yellow card just three minutes later. The Chelsea ace stepped on Conor Gallagher’s ankle after the latter slid in to win the ball.

The man advantage gave Spurs the confidence to push for more, and they were rewarded in the 87th minute. Mathys Tel beat Penders from outside the box and drilled the ball into the bottom-left corner.

Here are five takeaways from Chelsea’s 2-0 defeat to Tottenham:

Instead of replacing Joao Pedro with his back-up, Danny Welbeck, Alonso opted for a different formation.

Palmer and Rogers were deployed as a front two in a flat 4-4-2 system. Quenda and Neto operated as wide midfielders rather than wide forwards, while Jorrel Hato and Josh Acheampong, and later Marco Palestra, played as traditional full-backs.

The formation gave the wide players, Neto and Quenda, much more freedom to press higher up the pitch. However, as mentioned, aside from Caicedo’s individual brilliance, Chelsea did not have much success in winning the ball back.

It is easy to see why Alonso wanted to stick the pair closer to the goal. With Joao Pedro out, these two are Chelsea’s best chance to score.

However, the system also reduced the two attacking midfielders’ influence in Chelsea’s build-up play. They often had to receive the ball with their backs to the goal, surrounded by Spurs defenders. Chelsea usually want these two on the ball as often as possible, which was not the case this time.

If Chelsea had two things they should be concerned about heading into this game, it would be their poor set-piece defence and Penders' limited experience.

Chelsea have now conceded seven league goals from set pieces this season, three more than any other team in the competition.

As previously covered, this is also what Penders most likely struggles with, given the pressure goalkeepers face during Premier League set-piece routines.

After receiving four yellow cards against Everton last week, two of which were for dissent, the Blues have accumulated four more cautions, including Palmer’s two bookings. 

It is worth mentioning that Palmer received his first yellow card for his reaction to Fernandes’ handball. Had he stayed calm, Chelsea would likely have stayed with 11 men and had a realistic chance to push for a late equaliser.

That was also Chelsea's ninth Premier League red cards since the start of last season. Did Chelsea not acquire more experienced players in the summer to help address this issue?

Tottenham got their first win over Chelsea since February 2023, and their only second win at Stamford Bridge since 1990. This also ended Chelsea’s 10-game unbeaten run against the north London side.

What makes it worse is that Spurs thoroughly deserved the win after such a substandard display from Chelsea in such an important game.