According to a report by Football London on Monday October 26, 2026, Roberto De Zerbi outmaneuvered Xabi Alonso in a disappointing 2-0 loss for Chelsea at Stamford Bridge to Tottenham Hotspur. In spite of the loss, Ally McCoist is still confident that Chelsea will beat their London rivals for the title.

Due to João Pedro's inability to play due to injury, Alonso chose Morgan Rogers to spearhead the assault. Nevertheless, Cole Palmer was sent off and Rogers lost 14 of his 17 duels as Chelsea put up a frustrating performance.

A stunning finish by Mathys Tel and an own goal gave Tottenham the victory. Chelsea is still eight points behind Manchester City and Arsenal for first place in the Premier League, even though they are in fifth place themselves.

In spite of Chelsea's lackluster showing, McCoist is certain that his team can still finish above Tottenham. Jeff Stelling brought up the four-point gap between the two clubs while speaking on talkSPORT, but McCoist cut in with his prediction.

Regardless of Tottenham's sensational win and Chelsea's current problems under their Spanish manager, McCoist asserted with conviction that Chelsea will finish higher than Spurs.

Although McCoist conceded that Tottenham were right to win, he doubted that De Zerbi's squad could sustain such high levels of play on a regular basis. Although James Maddison has endured yet another injury setback, he had earlier anticipated that Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison would enhance Tottenham.

"Tottenham thoroughly deserved the victory," McCoist conceded, doubting Tottenham's consistency in the process. He went on to say that Chelsea had a terrible performance but insisted that they had enough talent to come back.

Reece James, Emi Martinez, and João Pedro have all suffered injuries that have impacted Chelsea's season. Palmer also has to be more disciplined, and Alonso has to fix the problems that were on display in Saturday's disappointing loss.

If Pedro Neto or Jordan Henderson had scored, the outcome might have been different. Mike Penders, Chelsea's goalkeeper, added fuel to the fire by putting the ball in his own net.

Meanwhile, instead of maintaining fifth place, Opta now has Chelsea finishing sixth, behind Aston Villa. The revised prediction is based on Villa's most recent win over Manchester City, which was spurred by two goals scored by Nicolas Jackson.

Chelsea can still improve their position and challenge for Champions League qualification with 30 league fixtures remaining. But if his team wants to finish higher than Tottenham, Alonso must bring discipline and consistency back.