Chelsea Round-Up, Sunday 25th October: Fallout Continues After Tottenham Defeat as Chelsea Women Go Top of the WSL

It's been a tough weekend to be a Chelsea fan, with the men's side still feeling the effects of Saturday's 2-0 derby defeat to Tottenham at Stamford Bridge, a game that saw a major second-half brawl and Cole Palmer sent off (Football.London) (Football.London). Football.London says the loss left Xabi Alonso with a reality check as his side struggled to deal with their fierce London rivals (Football.London).

Much of the post-match debate has centred on the red card shown to Palmer, with BBC pundit Martin Keown suggesting on Match of the Day that the England man was fortunate not to have been dismissed earlier in the game (BBC Sport). Gary Neville, meanwhile, has been vocal in the opposite direction, branding a challenge from Spurs' Morgan Rogers as "ludicrous" and insisting Alonso and co have a right to feel aggrieved, with Neville going as far as to claim Chelsea deserved two red cards of their own on the night (Football.London) (Mirror) (TeamTalk). Sports Mole's former Blues defender pointed to two specific fixes Alonso needs to make to shore up what's becoming a leaky Chelsea defence (Sports Mole), while Daniel Sturridge told Football365 he felt Alonso got his selection wrong by not starting Danny Welbeck (Football365). Elsewhere, GiveMeSport felt a standout display from one Tottenham player had gone somewhat under the radar amid all the Chelsea inquests (GiveMeSport).

Palmer himself has been quick to address the sending off, posting a 12-word apology on social media in the aftermath (Football.London), while Sports Mole report that a former Chelsea winger has sent Palmer a message regarding his England prospects following the red card (Sports Mole). Away from the pitch, talkSPORT shared footage showing frustrated Chelsea supporters remonstrating with Levi Colwill after the final whistle (talkSPORT), and the BBC's Savage Dan summed up the mood, saying he felt sick after the defeat and reflecting on the impact of missing players (BBC Sport). Former Spurs defender Jan Paul van Hecke also gave his take on the result, suggesting the win was no shock as things are starting to click for Tottenham this season (Evening Standard).

In the dressing room, Moises Caicedo was honest in his assessment, telling ChelseaFC.com that "everybody knows what we need to improve" (ChelseaFC.com) (Football.London), while Wolfsburg... sorry, Lacroix echoed that sentiment, saying the squad "must show the reaction of a competitor" going forward (ChelseaFC.com). Alonso also faced questions about the Joao Pedro injury, revealing he "didn't know" the news had leaked via Fantasy Premier League transfers before the Tottenham game (BBC Sport), and TeamTalk say there's an update on Joao Pedro to follow the defeat (TeamTalk). Elsewhere, Alonso discussed his confidence in Mike Penders and touched on a Liverpool-related decision on the official club site (ChelseaFC.com), while Football.London report on one of Alonso's blunter early moves as boss, which saw a player made to train alone and stripped of his shirt number (Football.London). TeamTalk also report that Estevao is said to be frustrated and shocked by his lack of first-team opportunities under Alonso, with a big call looming in January (TeamTalk). On the transfer front, the Evening Standard's live coverage touched on Chelsea being linked with a Senegal international earlier in the year as a possible replacement following Enzo Fernandez's departure (Evening Standard).

There was much better news from the women's side, who put in an excellent away performance against newly-promoted Crystal Palace at Sutton. Sonia Bompastor's side came from behind thanks to a double from Melvine Malard and a goal from Sandy Baltimore to win 3-1, with Malard also winning a penalty in the process (Sky Sports) (BBC Sport) (BBC Sport). The result sees Chelsea move top of the Women's Super League table and extends their unbeaten start to the season to seven matches (BBC Sport) (BBC Sport). We Ain't Got No History noted it continued a fine run that has also included a strong win over Tottenham at Stamford Bridge (We Ain't Got No History) (We Ain't Got No History), while ChelseaFC.com carried the confirmed lineup and a full match report from Sutton (ChelseaFC.com) (ChelseaFC.com).

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