This time, there was little need for Antonio Conte to labour the point about the gulf in class to Chelsea, as Tottenham went down to a third defeat to their rivals in 19 days.
The hat-trick of one-sided contests has underlined the chasm between the clubs, particularly when Spurs are missing players as they were again in yesterday's 2-0 loss, which ended Conte's unbeaten start in the League.
Romelu Lukaku and Kepa Arrizabalaga combined were more expensive than Conte's entire patched-up XI at Stamford Bridge, although the disparity in cost between the squads was emphasised by the head coach's decision to leave out Spurs' two record signings.
Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso were both dropped from the squad, along with Dele Alli, for the final game of the transfer window, with the club desperate to offload the trio this week.
Ndombele and Lo Celso cost a combined £110million, £55m each, but Spurs are resigned to pursuing loan or swap deals before the end of the month.
Should they leave, Ndombele and Lo Celso would both have a strong case to be the club's worst-ever signing, having between them played 90 minutes in just 16 League games in two-and-a-half years – Lo Celso seven and Ndombele nine.
Conte started with a back four in the Premier League yesterday for the first time since Chelsea's 3-0 defeat at Arsenal in September 2016, when he switched to a three at half-time, and he said before the game he had chosen the formation to suit his available players.
It was telling that the Italian would rather rip up his long-preferred system than rely on Ndombele, Lo Celso and Dele, and Spurs were second best, going down to second-half goals from Hakim Ziyech and Thiago Silva.
There are legitimate questions about the management of both Ndombele and Lo Celso at Spurs but their failures add to the pressure on the club to get it right in the transfer market this week.
Spurs cannot afford any more expensive mistakes, particularly with Conte's happiness feeling dependent on the club's ability to improve his squad, and unless Lo Celso and Ndombele can recoup some of their value in successful loan spells or be offloaded in mutually-beneficial swaps, the club are facing huge losses on the pair.
While Chelsea are able to replace big-money flops – for example Kepa, the word's most expensive goalkeeper who deputised for No1 Edouard Mendy again yesterday – Spurs are not, and Ndombele and Lo Celso are the latest reminders that the club's biggest transfers have rarely been successes.
Spurs' best signings have tended to be young players in the £5m-£25m bracket, and Steven Bergwijn, who falls into that category, was their only bright spot yesterday, following up his last-gasp heroics at Leicester with a lively display alongside Harry Kane up front.
Ndombele has consistently struggled for match fitness and has been considered too individualistic and not hard-working enough by Conte and his immediate predecessors, Jose Mourinho and Nuno Espirito Santo.
For all his brilliance on the ball, the Frenchman's lack of effort without possession has dissuaded Conte from continuing the experiment, and he has been training alone this week.
Lo Celso briefly looked like a fine player during Project Restart but has barely been fit since, and has been increasingly hesitant on each return from injury. The Argentina international is not particularly liked at the club.
By leaving out Lo Celso, Ndombele and Dele, Conte has made it plain that they are among the players who he does not consider to have a long-term future at the club, having spent two months on a detailed evaluation of the squad, which was relayed to chairman Daniel Levy and managing director Fabio Paratici at a meeting earlier this month.
The ball is now firmly in the club's court to act on Conte's recommendations and reshape the squad in the final week of the transfer window, but Ndombele and Lo Celso, who will be difficult to offload, offer a reminder of the perils of getting it wrong.
