Xabi Alonso and Maxence Lacroix have both sent messages to Chelsea goalkeeper Mike Penders after his costly error in the 2-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.

The 21-year-old was at fault for Spurs' opener, as Roberto De Zerbi's side went on to claim their first away win against Chelsea in eight years and just their second league win since 1990.

Penders failed to deal with a Spurs corner, misjudging his clearance and inadvertently punched the ball into his own net, with Lacroix unable to clear it before it crossed the line.

It was a disappointing moment for the Belgian, who conceded 10 minutes later as Mathys Tel doubled the visitors' lead with a low strike in the corner, which Penders would have hoped to keep out.

A disappointing full Premier League debut for Penders, who has stepped up in the absence of Emiliano Martinez, who fractured his jaw in the win over Everton and is now sidelined for a few weeks.

But Penders couldn't reward Alonso with a match-winning performance, and the youngster drew criticism for his role in Spurs' two goals at Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening.

He is set to get another chance on Wednesday night when Chelsea travel to Anfield to face one of Alonso's former clubs, Liverpool, in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.

Alonso confirmed he'll start Penders against the Reds and said he has full confidence in his goalkeeper.

"It’s part of the business; you need to deal with mistakes and we keep confidence in Mike and he will be in goal against Liverpool," admitted Alonso.

"We win and we lose together and it’s part of the job to deal with mistakes, myself as well as everyone."

It's another chance for Penders in a big week and the end of the month for Chelsea, who will hope to finish strongly. Liverpool are up first for a place in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals, before concluding October with a home clash against an out-of-form Manchester United side.

Chelsea's defence were unable to back up their Everton clean sheet against Spurs. Lacroix also would have hoped to have done better for Tel's doubler, which sank the Blues. 

It remains unclear how many changes Alonso will make in defence against Liverpool, with Wesley Fofana patiently waiting for his chance to start.

Alonso will want to bounce back at the first attempt, and Lacroix insists everyone is behind Penders, who they believe will play an influential role this season.

"He is a young goalkeeper and he has a lot of talent," said Lacroix.

"He will learn from this. This can happen in football careers and in life, everyone makes mistakes, and we have to be with him and we are going to be with him. We are behind him. He will help us this season and now we have to help him."

It's a quick turnaround for Chelsea as they head to Merseyside. However difficult, they need to put the Spurs result behind them and focus on knocking out Liverpool.