Cole Palmer was dismissed for the first time in his senior career as Tottenham beat Chelsea 2-0 at Stamford Bridge, a result that gave Xabi Alonso his first home defeat as Chelsea head coach. The red card rules Palmer out of Wednesday's Carabao Cup tie at Liverpool.

Chelsea lost a London derby at home after an own goal and a red card. The game was goalless at half-time. Jan Paul van Hecke was pressing the goalkeeper when the opener went in off his hand, Chelsea’s report said.

Referee Chris Kavanagh showed Pedro Neto and Morgan Rogers yellow cards as Chelsea chased the game.

Two bookings in nine minutes end Palmer’s afternoon

Palmer’s first caution came in the 71st minute. He shoved Mateus Fernandes after the Spurs midfielder handled the ball. His second booking was for a late challenge that landed on Conor Gallagher’s leg.

The dismissal took Chelsea to a century of Premier League red cards, not counting rescinded ones. Only Everton, now on 113, and Arsenal, on 110, reached that mark before them, according to ESPN. Chelsea players and staff were sent off 11 times in the 2025-26 season, more than any other Premier League club.

Alonso was already short of key men. Penders was in goal because Emiliano Martinez was injured. Joao Pedro, Chelsea’s top league scorer with five goals, was ruled out after a problem in training the day before. Geovany Quenda, 19, came in for his first start. Rogers led the line ahead of Danny Welbeck as Alonso played without a recognised striker.

Spurs dominate the ball and end a long wait at the Bridge

Tottenham controlled the afternoon. They completed 569 passes from 654, against Chelsea’s 215 from 288. Both sides managed four shots on target. Expected goals finished 0.55 to 0.8 in Spurs’ favour.

It was only Tottenham’s second win at Chelsea in the Premier League era. It was also their first league win there since 2018. Spurs last won at Stamford Bridge without conceding in December 1986, also by 2-0. Chelsea have now failed to score in only two of their last 17 home Premier League London derbies. The other was a goalless draw with Crystal Palace last season.

The defeat ended a run of two straight wins, against Everton and Bournemouth. Chelsea had won each of the four previous Premier League meetings between the clubs. They stay fourth on 13 points from eight games. Manchester City and Arsenal lead on 21 points. Tottenham, whose head coach Roberto De Zerbi was booked for dissent, sit 12th on nine points.

Chelsea travel to Anfield for the Carabao Cup fourth round on Wednesday 28 October, with an 8pm kick-off. Unless his ban is extended, Palmer can return when Manchester United visit Stamford Bridge on Saturday 31 October at 12:30pm.

📷 Stamford Bridge: Arne Müseler from Salzburg, AT, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons