Xabi Alonso used two very deliberate words a little over 24 hours before Chelsea's 2-0 defeat to Tottenham. "Emotional control", something he called on his side to show on Saturday night under the lights at Stamford Bridge.

It was always going to be fiery - this fixture has a recent history of being just that - but it was up to the Blues players to keep cool heads. With Jordan Henderson on the pitch, that was supposed to be easier. The 36-year-old has shown consistent leadership attributes in his short time at Chelsea but even he couldn't control some of his teammates' emotions against Spurs.

Cole Palmer let his side down on Saturday. During his three seasons as a Blues player, the former Manchester City attacker hasn't done that a lot, but he must shoulder a big portion of the blame for what turned into a miserable night for Alonso and his players.

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Two silly yellow cards - he was fortunate to escape with just a caution for his first one; a barge on Mateus Fernandes as the Tottenham midfielder picked himself up from the floor - in less than nine minutes. Simply put, Palmer lost his head. After last weekend's win at Everton, where Palmer was flirting with a second yellow card, the Chelsea star failed to learn his lesson.

His close friend Morgan Rogers showed his nasty side as well. Late on in the game, Chelsea's record signing expressed his frustration by kicking out at Conor Gallagher. As Gary Neville, live on Sky Sports co-commentary duty, put it, there was no intention whatsoever from Rogers to win possession back for his side.

"I think that's a red. I do," said Neville. "He's absolutely wellied him with no intent. That's ludicrous from Rogers. They have lost it. Xabi Alonso needs to get them off."

It was almost a reality check for Alonso that some of these Chelsea players are hot-headed characters. Last season, before Alonso stepped into the building, the inability to face adversity became a fixture within the Blues squad.

There have, undoubtedly, been signs of improvement on that front. Alonso has tried his best to change the culture at the football club, but he hasn't been given enough time to do that yet - and that showed on Saturday.

There was a case of Chelsea's staff losing their heads as well. Sebas Parrilla, one of Alonso's assistants, in particular, following Palmer's altercation with Fernandes. The Tottenham bench jumped to their feet after Palmer pushed Fernandes to the ground. Roberto De Zerbi marched over to the Chelsea dugout to vent his anger and Parrilla matched the Italian on the fury scale.

Parrilla was having to be held back by his colleagues at one point as he wanted to let the Spurs bench know exactly how he felt. And that was at 0-0.

The feistiness of the fixture was a throwback in many ways, but in some ways, you can always expect that side of the game in Chelsea vs Tottenham. Usually the Blues know how to handle the emotion of the derby, but it was the complete contrast on Saturday.

Alonso got it wrong

While Alonso can feel frustrated at the likes of Palmer flying off the handle, he will also have to accept he got some things wrong on Saturday.

Alonso called for the home supporters to make some noise at Stamford Bridge and they did, particularly in the first half, but it's a two-way thing and the fans weren't getting anything back.

Chelsea were far too passive; emphasised by the quite frankly remarkable possession stats: 68.5%-31.5% in Spurs' favour. Going into the match, Tottenham were way down in 19th in the Premier League table. Chelsea needed to take the game to a fragile Spurs, albeit who came off the back of a win on Monday, but instead Alonso's men allowed De Zerbi's team far too much encouragement.

It was too easy for Tottenham to play through the Blues' midfield - even with Moises Caicedo in there. Especially in the first half, which ironically provided no goals, the visitors were finding James Maddison time and time again in acres of space in between Chelsea's midfield and defence.

Chelsea's press wasn't working. Far too often, Caicedo and Henderson - Chelsea's midfield two - would jump up to try and put the pressure on Tottenham's back line and that allowed Maddison to find space behind them. More often than not, it was a simple pass into midfield for Spurs' defenders, who all have the ability to play out from the back.

But even when Maddison hobbled off with an injury, it was still far too straightforward for the north Londoners.

Spurs exploited other areas as well. Mathys Tel and Andy Robertson were electric down Tottenham's left-hand side - and it was clearly an area they targeted pre-match. Josh Acheampong got left exposed far too often, even with the hard-working Pedro Neto working back. It was far too easy for the visitors to have it their own way.

Blues face anxious wait

Moments before the official team news was announced, rumours of Joao Pedro being absent from the Chelsea squad started to circulate around the press box at Stamford Bridge. From that point, we should have known it was going to be a miserable day for the Blues in west London. Storm Boelo wasn't helping either.

Alonso didn't clarify whether the Brazilian's injury was a recurrence of the knee problem he sustained just before the most recent international break. Alonso did say, though, that Chelsea will know more on Sunday with the 25-year-old set to be scanned to discover the extent of the issue.

Joao Pedro's absence wasn't the sole reason for Chelsea's chastening loss on Saturday night but it certainly didn't help. Put it this way: Chelsea have played twice without their top goal scorer this season and have lost those two games by an aggregate scoreline of 5-0.

Alonso went with an unorthodox front trio of Palmer, Rogers and Geovany Quenda, who made his first start for the club since signing in the summer. Rogers was essentially a false nine - something we had seen snippets of towards the end of some league matches - but the England international was unable to leave his mark.

Many supporters wondered why Danny Welbeck didn't start. When the 35-year-old striker came on with just a few minutes of normal time remaining, many wondered why he was brought on so late.

Key duo could be missing for Liverpool trip

In turn, the above automatically categorises Joao Pedro as a doubt for the trip to Anfield on Wednesday night. Chelsea take on Liverpool in the fourth round of this season's Carabao Cup, and while the competition is not high on some supporters' agendas, it is one the club are looking to take seriously this season. At least that's the message from Chelsea.

While Joao Pedro is a doubt, Palmer is definitely out. The 24-year-old's red card means he will face a one-match suspension and that will be served in the Carabao Cup, despite the sending off taking place in a Premier League fixture.

Rogers might be the only one of Chelsea's front three taking to the pitch on Merseyside - and there is no guarantee he starts either. It's intriguing to see how strong Alonso goes. His counterpart, and close friend, Andoni Iraola showed in the Reds' third round win over Tottenham that he is prepared to heavily rotate his line-up.

The likes of Estevao Willian and the aforementioned Quenda and Welbeck will be hoping for some much-needed minutes at Anfield. The likes of Valentin Barco, Malo Gusto, Romeo Lavia and Wesley Fofana are also in desperate need of some first-team action. Emmanuel Emegha will hope to be fit enough to take at least some part in Liverpool as well.