Chelsea coach Xabi Alonso has reacted to his side's 2-1 loss to Tottenham Hotspur on their Australian pre-season tour, admitting that his players are learning and improving despite the defeat.
On Saturday, the Blues could not get the better of their London rivals down under, despite Spurs being a man down from the 49th minute following the sending off of Kevin Danso.
A deflected first-half strike from new Spurs signing Sandro Tonali was initially cancelled out by a goal from Chelsea's Estevao Willian, but another Brazilian found the winner in the 92nd minute, with Richarlison making it 2-1 to Roberto De Zerbi's team at Accor Stadium in Sydney.
Tottenham keeper Antonin Kinsky had a great game, denying the Chelsea players on several occasions.
Reacting to the loss, former Liverpool midfielder and new Chelsea coach Alonso was more concerned with the benefits his players derived from the game than the result.
"It was an intense competitive game, for sure. We wanted to win and to lose is not something we like, but it’s a pre-season game, and we have missed a few chances," Alonso told his club's official website.
"In the first half, it was very competitive, really even, and in the second half we were close to scoring that winning goal. But it was a good pre-season game, great crowd and atmosphere, and we were unlucky to concede that late goal to lose.
"In any game you think you can do better, but it is part of the process: to learn the things we can do better, the things we have done well, and the place we are now," the Spaniard added.
'RESULT NOT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING'
While the result will be disappointing, the coach preferred to focus on the positives, such as the valuable game time earned by many of his players.
"It’s normal we have these moments. But the result is not the most important thing now; it’s the performance, it’s 75 minutes for many players, which was the plan and we respect that," said Alonso.
Chelsea have friendly matches scheduled against Serie A giants Juventus and AC Milan in the coming week, with the English Premier League beginning for the Blues on 24 August with a trip to face Fulham.