Chelsea’s Penders told to learn from Tottenham defeat, says Alonso

Xabi Alonso said Chelsea must help Mike Penders recover from his costly mistake after a 2-0 home defeat by Tottenham in the Premier League.

The young goalkeeper scored an own goal before Mathys Tel added an outstanding second to give Tottenham a memorable victory at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea’s night was made worse when Cole Palmer was sent off shortly after the opening goal.

“We are certainly disappointed with both the result and the performance,” Alonso said in comments published by Football London. “We spoke at half-time and I had the feeling the match would be decided by goals, specifically the first one.”

“The second half was even, with some half-chances for them and similar opportunities for us. Once we conceded the first goal, everything changed.”

Chelsea were attempting to respond when Palmer received his red card.

“Almost immediately afterwards, when we wanted to show a reaction, Cole Palmer’s red card came and things went in the opposite direction,” said Alonso. “Perhaps we could have performed better, so this is a big match that deserves reflection and review, especially because we faced a strong opponent.”

Alonso was asked whether the incident could serve as a lesson for Palmer, who may have been fortunate not to be dismissed in an earlier incident involving Matheus Fernandes.

“I have not seen either incident on television, but from what I have been told, the referee probably made the right decision,” he said.

“When you concede and go 1-0 down with perhaps 15 to 20 minutes remaining, you have to continue dealing with the game in the right way. I need to review the incident so I can speak to Cole, but it is certainly an experience he should learn from in the future.”

Alonso added that Palmer performs differently when he is focused and enjoying his football.

“I think when Cole Palmer is concentrated on the match and enjoying playing, he is in a different place,” said the Chelsea manager. “But today, after we conceded the first goal, it was a moment when everyone needed to remain calm and show maturity. That applies to everybody.”

Joao Pedro injury assessment

Chelsea are also waiting to discover the seriousness of Joao Pedro’s injury. Alonso said the player has a significant build-up of fluid and will probably have to wait until the following day for tests.

“We do not know how serious it is yet because he has a large accumulation of fluid,” Alonso said. “He felt the injury yesterday and we will probably have to wait until tomorrow for the examinations, so we can understand the full situation and how serious it is.”

Alonso defended Penders after the goalkeeper’s error, insisting that mistakes must be dealt with collectively.

“How do you deal with a young goalkeeper such as Mike Penders and help him overcome an error like this?” he said. “We win together and lose together. Handling mistakes and moving beyond them is part of the job, and that applies to me personally as well as everyone else.”

“We support Mike, and we support the rest of the team too. He will learn from this mistake and want to show he can perform better. We also have to show that we can improve and produce a better performance.”

Before the match, Alonso had compared the Belgian Penders with his compatriot Thibaut Courtois, the Real Madrid goalkeeper.