Former Chelsea striker Daniel Sturridge has questioned Xabi Alonso’s selection decisions after the Blues suffered a 2-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in their Premier League London derby at Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening.

According to a report by Metro on Saturday, October 24, 2026, Tottenham impressed against their city rivals, claiming an important victory away from home and rising to 12th in the Premier League standings.

Chelsea went into the game without Joao Pedro, their leading goalscorer, after the Brazilian forward picked up a knock. With Pedro unavailable, Alonso decided against handing Danny Welbeck a starting role, instead choosing Geovany Quenda to feature alongside Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers in attack.

The decision failed to produce the desired results, as Chelsea struggled to create meaningful scoring opportunities and found it difficult to cope with Tottenham’s intensity. The hosts delivered an underwhelming attacking performance and were unable to make their home advantage count.

Alonso’s handling of Welbeck also attracted criticism, as the Chelsea manager waited until the 88th minute to introduce the experienced striker. By that stage, Tottenham had already doubled their advantage, leaving Welbeck with little time to influence the outcome.

Sturridge was unhappy with the decision, arguing that Welbeck’s experience and qualities could have made a significant difference had he been included in the starting lineup.

During his appearance on Sky Sports, the former England international did not hide his disappointment with Alonso’s approach to the match.

“I think the manager got it wrong,” Sturridge remarked, suggesting that the Chelsea boss made the wrong call when deciding how to organise his attacking players.

While acknowledging that Quenda is a talented young footballer, Sturridge argued that introducing the teenager into the starting lineup may have affected the team’s attacking balance and limited the effectiveness of Palmer and Rogers.

“Quenda is a very good young player, make no mistake, but I think the way in which the team have played in the last couple of weeks, they were prepared to play with Joao Pedro,” he explained.

According to Sturridge, Chelsea had developed an attacking structure that suited Pedro’s role as the central striker. His absence forced Alonso to make changes that may have disrupted the understanding and movement among the forwards.

Sturridge also pointed to Welbeck’s experience as a major reason why the striker should have been considered for a starting position. Although he admitted that Welbeck does not possess Pedro’s pace or explosiveness, he believes the forward’s experience and tactical awareness could have helped Chelsea overcome the challenge posed by Tottenham.

“Is Welbeck as fast as him? No. Is he as dynamic? He isn’t. But what we know is he is a very good, very experienced football player who could have come in and done a job,” Sturridge added.

Sturridge concluded that Welbeck deserved to start the London derby, intensifying the criticism of Alonso’s team selection and tactical decisions after Chelsea failed to deliver a convincing performance and suffered a disappointing defeat at Stamford Bridge.