Chelsea Suffer First Defeat Under Xabi Alonso After Spurs Thriller
Richarlison scored a dramatic 90th-minute winner as 10-man Tottenham Hotspur defeated Chelsea 2-1 in an entertaining pre-season friendly at Stadium Australia on Saturday, handing new Blues manager Xabi Alonso his first defeat in charge.
The Brazilian forward struck late to complete Tottenham’s comeback after Chelsea failed to make the most of their numerical advantage following Kevin Danso’s second-half red card.
Tottenham took the lead in the 19th minute through new signing Sandro Tonali, whose deflected strike found the back of the net for his first goal in Spurs colours.
Chelsea responded almost immediately as Brazilian youngster Estevao headed home just two minutes later after a well-worked move involving Romeo Lavia, sending both teams into the break level at 1-1.
The game changed shortly after halftime when Tottenham defender Kevin Danso was shown a straight red card just three minutes after coming on as a substitute for bringing down Joao Pedro.
Despite playing with an extra man for most of the second half, Chelsea failed to turn their dominance into goals. Estevao came closest when he rattled the crossbar, while several other chances went begging.
Tottenham stayed disciplined and punished Chelsea in the closing stages, with Richarlison calmly finishing from close range in the 90th minute to seal a memorable victory before a crowd of 80,363 fans.
The defeat was Alonso’s first since taking over as Chelsea manager. His side had opened their pre-season campaign with a 6-4 victory over Western Sydney Wanderers and will next face Juventus in Hong Kong on Wednesday.
Chelsea have strengthened their squad with several new signings this summer, including Morgan Rogers, while Marco Palestra made his first appearance for the club against Tottenham.
Tottenham have also reinforced their squad with the arrivals of Sandro Tonali, Andy Robertson and Matheus Fernandes as they continue preparations for the new Premier League season.
The victory capped an encouraging pre-season tour for Spurs, who previously defeated Auckland FC 2-0 and drew 1-1 with Sydney FC.
