Former Chelsea striker Daniel Sturridge has questioned Xabi Alonso’s team selection after the Blues suffered a disappointing 2-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in their Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge.

Tottenham delivered a strong performance against their London rivals, securing an important away victory that reportedly lifted them to 12th place in the league standings. Chelsea, by contrast, struggled to create clear-cut chances and appeared unable to match the visitors’ intensity for much of the contest.

Chelsea were without their leading goalscorer, Joao Pedro, who missed the match after picking up a knock. Alonso responded by selecting Geovany Quenda alongside Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers in the attacking positions, leaving Danny Welbeck out of the starting lineup.

However, the reshuffled forward line failed to deliver the desired impact. Chelsea struggled to build attacking momentum, with their limited creativity and lack of effectiveness in the final third contributing to their defeat. The performance left supporters frustrated as the home side failed to find a way past Tottenham’s defence.

Alonso’s decision to delay Welbeck’s introduction until the 88th minute became a major talking point after the match. By the time the experienced forward entered the game, Tottenham had already established a two-goal advantage, leaving him with little time to influence the outcome.

Sturridge was particularly critical of the manager’s choices, arguing that Chelsea could have benefited from using Welbeck earlier. Speaking on Sky Sports, the former England international gave a blunt assessment of Alonso’s approach to the derby, saying he believed the manager had made the wrong decisions.

Although Sturridge acknowledged Quenda’s potential and ability, he questioned whether starting the teenager was the right move given the attacking structure Chelsea had developed in recent weeks. He suggested that the team had become accustomed to playing with Pedro in the central attacking role, and replacing him with a different profile of player disrupted the balance alongside Palmer and Rogers.

Sturridge stressed that his criticism was not intended to undermine Quenda’s talent. Instead, he argued that the manager needed to consider how the absence of Pedro would affect the team’s overall approach and choose a replacement capable of maintaining its attacking effectiveness.

The former striker also defended Welbeck’s suitability for the fixture, highlighting the value of his experience and understanding of the game. While conceding that Welbeck does not possess the same pace or dynamism as Pedro, Sturridge maintained that the forward could still have made a meaningful contribution if selected from the beginning.

He argued that Welbeck’s football intelligence and experience could have offered Chelsea a different attacking dimension against Tottenham. In his view, the forward deserved an opportunity to start rather than being introduced only during the closing stages.

The defeat has consequently placed greater attention on Alonso’s tactical decisions and his handling of Chelsea’s attacking options when key players are unavailable. With the team struggling to create opportunities against Tottenham, questions remain over whether the manager’s selection and substitutions were appropriate for the occasion.