Chelsea beaten by Tottenham in Sydney pre-season friendly

Photo: Agencia de Noticias ANDES / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons

Chelsea lost their second pre-season tour fixture against Tottenham Hotspur in Sydney on Saturday, with manager Xabi Alonso acknowledging the result while stressing the priority was minutes for senior players.

Tottenham opened the scoring in the 17th minute when a deflected effort from Sandro Tonali found the net. Chelsea responded quickly, with Estevao Willian heading home at the back post from a Jamie Gittens cross to level the match.

The game shifted in the second half when Tottenham defender Kevin Danso was shown a straight red card for bringing down Joao Pedro. Despite the numerical advantage, Chelsea were repeatedly denied by goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky and ultimately conceded a late winner through Richarlison in the final minute.

"It was an intense competitive game, for sure," Alonso said after the match. "We wanted to win and to lose is not something we like, but it's a pre-season game and we have missed a few chances."

Alonso acknowledged room for improvement but kept the result in perspective. "In any game you think you can do better, but it is part of the process: to learn the things we can do better, the things we have done well, and the place we are now."

The Chelsea manager confirmed the performance load was managed as planned. "The result is not the most important thing now; it's the performance, it's 75 minutes for many players, which was the plan and we respect that."

The match at Accor Stadium, attended by 80,000 spectators, concluded Chelsea's time in Australia. The squad departs for Hong Kong on Sunday. Alonso praised the reception from Australian supporters, saying: "To have 80,000 people in this stadium, and to have a proper atmosphere and this electrifying noise, was top today."