Mauricio Pochettino needs new players he can count on with Tottenham missing Danny Rose and Kyle Walker

Having remained unbeaten at home in the Premier League for their final season at White Hart Lane, Tottenham have lost their opening match at Wembley.

A Marcos Alonso brace, his second with just minutes left on the clock, saw Mauricio Pochettino’s side lose 2-1 to Chelsea at their new home.

Standard Sport’s Tom Collomosse was in attendance at Wembley, and here’s his observations from the match…

Pochettino changes again

For virtually every game of his first two seasons at Tottenham, Pochettino was a committed 4-2-3-1 man. Since the start of the 2016-17 campaign, it has been a different story, with the Argentine trying a number of different formations. Today, he caused a surprise by arranging his team in a 4-3-2-1 system, with a midfield trio of Eric Dier, Victor Wanyama and Mousa Dembele, with Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen in their customary roles just behind Harry Kane. When Heung-min Son replaced Dier in the 68th minute, Pochettino went back to his tried-and-trusted 4-2-3-1 – then changed to 3-4-2-1 for the closing stages when Moussa Sissoko replaced Ben Davies.

Defensive duo struggle to keep their cool

The 2-2 draw between these teams at Stamford Bridge in May 2016, when nine Tottenham players were booked, was one of the most violent matches in recent Premier League history. While the mood today was nothing like as venomous, Dier and Jan Vertonghen were lucky only to be booked for two dreadful tackles. Dier’s studs-up lunge at David Luiz in the first half could have caused serious injury, while Vertonghen produced a similarly aggressive manoeuvre against Victor Moses soon after the break. Tottenham were frustrated that the game was not going their way but Pochettino will have been concerned at the loss of composure.

Reinforcements required

A glance at the Tottenham bench revealed exactly why Pochettino said on Friday that he hoped to sign four players before the transfer window closes on August 31. Of the six outfield players among the substitutes, only one – Harry Winks – has the complete trust of Pochettino. Son has never quite gained it, despite his excellent goal return last season; Moussa Sissoko, Vincent Janssen and Kevin Wimmer have never had it; and Kyle Walker-Peters has made only one Premier League appearance for the club. Tottenham need more players who Pochettino knows he can count on.

Walker and Rose are missed

Ben Davies had a positive game on the left flank, particularly towards the end of the first half when Tottenham were particularly dominant. Kieran Trippier was not as effective on the other side – yet neither is the equal of Kyle Walker or Danny Rose. Trippier has stepped up to replace Walker after the latter’s £50million move to Manchester City, while Rose has been injured since January. Yet even when Rose does come back, there can be no certainty about his future – the player wants to leave Tottenham and will take time to regain fitness even if he does play regularly for them again.

The Wembley curse continues

This was exactly the sort of match Tottenham did not want for their first in the league at Wembley, as it did nothing to lift the tension about how they will play here. The performance was generally very good, but Spurs had little luck in attack, nor were they clinical enough. Chelsea scored with their only shot on target in the first half, while their second – again from Marcos Alonso – was made possible by an injury to Mousa Dembele, who would surely have cut off the Spaniard’s run had he been fully mobile. It is eight defeats at the new Wembley now for Spurs, who will be nervous when they face Burnley here next week. Remember they did not lose a single game at White Hart Lane last season. This term, they have lost their only home fixture so far.