Xabi Alonso on Chelsea’s 0-2 loss to Tottenham

VIA BBC SPORT:

Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso, speaking to BBC Match of the Day: “I think that there were many different moments in the game. First half I wanted more intensity. We wanted high pressing but we were not strong enough in duels.

“We had some kind of chances in the first half and in the second half, we talked and we started a bit better. We had a good chance with Pedro [Neto]. We had spoken about how important the first goal would be and when they scored I felt ‘ah, this is not what we wanted’.

“Straightaway almost, came the red card. Disappointed with the result and we have to be honest with the performance, we could have played better.”

On the performance: “There were moments we planned to be more aggressive and with the ball we lacked a little bit of composure to give more passes. It was about it being a derby and going through difficult moments that you need to manage.

“One key moment was the first goal.”

On Mike Penders’ mistake: “This is football. It is about doing great things and dealing with difficult moments. We will support Mike. We come together from these moments.”

On missing Joao Pedro: “It would be so easy to talk about the players we’re missing but with the squad that we have, we believe we can do better with the team that we have.

“We have to be self-critical and take responsibility.”

On Cole Palmer red card: “I have to check. It was hard for everyone to deal with 1-0 when the game was so close. It affected a bit our emotional control.”