Tottenham vs Chelsea: Five things we learned as Marcos Alonso's brace sinks Spurs at Wembley

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Marcos Alonso scored twice to kick-start Chelsea's season in a pulsating win over Tottenham at Wembley.

Alvaro Morata had spoken before this game of exorcising his Wembley demons after missing a penalty in the Community Shield but they came back to haunt him again early on as he missed an easy header from just a few yards out.

The miss almost cost Chelsea immediately as first Dele Alli and then Mousa Dembele shot narrowly over the bar.

But thankfully for Morata, compatriot Alonso made sure the miss didn’t matter as he curled a tremendous free-kick into the top corner to score what was the first Premier League goal at the national stadium.

Harry Kane and Victor Moses then had chances at either end in the second-half before Willian struck a post of his own - but it was Michy Batshuayi who eventually levelled the score for the hosts.

Running back towards his own goal, the Belgian substitute failed to divert Christian Eriksen’s dangerous cross out for a corner and instead headed into his own net.

But Alonso popped up with just three minutes left to save Batshuayi's blushes and make sure Chelsea returned to west London with the points.

Here are five things we learned from the game…

In stark contrast to the last time these two sides met at Wembley – when Chelsea ran out as 4-2 winners – Antonio Conte had very little to turn to on his substitutes bench.

That day Eden Hazard, Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa came on in the second-half to give Chelsea the victory but through a combination of injury, suspension and diplomacy he had none of those star players here.

Fortunately for the Italian, he still has a very good core of first-team players to call upon – the bigger problem will be maintaining this high level of performance throughout the whole season with a clear lack of back-ups.

The Blues have been linked with a £200m spending spree this weekend – including on the likes of Tottenham’s Toby Alderweireld and the Southampton trio of Virgil Van Dijk, Ryan Bertrand and Cedric Soares – and despite the win it would be no surprise to see additions before deadline day.

Chelsea may have a small squad, but in Antonio Conte they possess one of the most astute managers in world football.

He may not know how to handle wantaway centre-forwards and tricky owners, but Conte proved once again that he knows how to set up a team to stifle Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham.

After a demoralising defeat to Burnley last weekend the Blues looked a team transformed on Sunday as they flew out of the blocks in the first-half. They should have gone one up with Morata’s easy chance and then took a deserved lead through Alonso’s free-kick.

There were more chances too in the second-half – through Moses and Morata – and the Blues were unlucky to concede the equaliser in the manner they did.

The Brazilian had to move forward to fill the gap left by the suspended Cesc Fabregas and with Kante and Bakayoko expected to offer more going forward, defensive responsibilities were handed to Luiz.

Up against one of the finest midfielders in the league in the shape of Mousa Dembele, David Luiz looked out of place in comparison.

His positional sense – or lack thereof – allowed Chrisitian Eriksen too much space to drop into the hole and launch attacks for Spurs.

Luiz did show flashes of his best today – notably when running back into his six-yard box to block Jan Vertonghen’s cross as Eric Dier looked primed to finish – but Conte will be looking forward to dropping him into Chelsea’s backline when he can.

Tottenham were unbeaten at White Hart Lane for their entire final season at their home ground but did lose three of the five European matches they played at Wembley - leaving many fearing they could struggle to improve on last year's second-place finish.

There was, however, a superb atmosphere before the game and during the opening exchanges of this first Premier League fixture at Wembley suggesting there would be no problem for Spurs to feel at home in their new surrounds and that the so-called “curse” was nothing but a coincidence.

But as the action started on the pitch there must have been a few doubts among the Spurs faithful.

Tottenham could easily have won this game - conceding just two shots on goal, which both went in. Alli should have scored, Dembele nearly scored and Kane struck the post, then missed another header in the second-half.

Batshuayi’s own goal looked like it had banished the curse – until Alonso popped up again to make Pochettino wince and Spurs fans worry they could have a very long season ahead.

Bakayoko is a more dynamic footballer than Nemanja Matic (who he has come in to replace) and despite clearly not being fully match fit, he did not look out of place in the rough and tumble of the Premier League.

The Frenchman, making his Chelsea debut, played on the right hand side of a midfield three alongside David Luiz and N’Golo Kante and showed good bursts of pace going both forwards and back as well as linking well with his new teammates.

He did not look fully sharp and did go down several times early on looking like he had taken a knock or perhaps aggravated the knee injury that has kept him out of contention until now.

Nevertheless there was enough to reassure Chelsea fans that the sale of Matic to rivals Manchester United will not turn out to be too much of a mistake.