Another day and another match between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea that showed the gulf between the two clubs at the moment.
Antonio Conte has made it clear in the past month just how far he believes Spurs are lying behind their London rivals when it comes to their squads.
That's not in doubt but Tottenham fans have watched Brighton (twice), struggling Everton and Wolves all take points off Chelsea in recent weeks, yet find their own team completely incapable of matching Thomas Tuchel's men.
There seems to be an inferiority complex when it comes to Tottenham and their opponents on the other side of the capital, something that Conte's comments about the squad, while not unique to him, only feed into.
It spread out on to the pitch and it's a damning fact that Son Heung-min's goal at Wembley in November 2018 was the last time a Spurs player scored against Chelsea in the Premier League.
The only other goal for the north London outfit in the seven matches since between the two sides in the competition was an own goal.
Spurs were not helped on Sunday by their line-up with Conte picking a starting XI that would have brought a flood of criticism had it been selected by his predecessors Nuno Espirito Santo or Jose Mourinho.
Only Harry Kane and Steven Bergwijn carried the attacking threat in a 4-4-2 that contained four full-backs, two centre-backs and two more defensively-minded central midfielders.
Conte has plenty of credit in the bank though with his recently silverware-laden CV and his nine-game unbeaten start in the Premier League at Spurs.
That run ended on Sunday with a performance that was a struggle for the Tottenham players and a struggle to watch.
Only Kane and Bergwijn, Hugo Lloris and the returning Eric Dier, playing with a heavily strapped-up right thigh, emerged from the game with any real credit.
In the first half Kane had a 'goal' harshly disallowed for very little which might have at least given the match a slightly different course had it stood and Dier was adjudged to have fouled Callum Hudson-Odoi in the second period when it seemed a clean tackle, leading to the free-kick Chelsea scored their second goal from.
Yet Conte's team selection felt as much a message to the powers-that-be at Tottenham as it did one to compete in the match.
Injuries played their part with Emerson Royal, Lucas Moura, Oliver Skipp and Sergio Reguilon all deemed not fit enough to start the match following injury problems suffered, some in midweek against Leicester City.
Yet this line-up was as much about those players left behind at Hotspur Way as it was about those who made the trip.
Giovani Lo Celso and Dele Alli were both excluded from the final matchday squad before the transfer window closes, creating a list of exiles that includes Tanguy Ndombele.
The trio make up the entirety of Spurs' attacking central midfield options but instead of calling upon any of them at Stamford Bridge, Conte selected 20-year-old development squad midfielder Harvey White.
Lo Celso took to Instagram soon after team was announced to make it clear that he had not suffered another injury in his fragmented Tottenham career.
"Regarding the questions I have received I would like to clear out that I am 100 per cent in good physical condition. I have no problem and I feel very well. I wish the best to my team in the derby today," he posted.
When asked about the Argentine's absence after the game, Conte simply said: "I selected the players for this game and for this question is one for the club to answer."
Then when asked about Alli by Sky, he added: "I don't want to comment about single players. There is the club to make the best decision on this aspect on players leaving and also to buy.
"There is a sporting director and also a chairman. They take the last decision, it is right to speak to them, not you."
With just a week remaining of the January transfer and clearly much to be done, Conte said he was not pinning all of his hopes on the work of managing director of football Fabio Paratici to change something deeper rooted, but admitted the transformation needs to begin.
"This is not the right moment and also to speak in front of the media. The club know very well what I think," he said.
"The time we need to close this gap, there is not one transfer market, I think the last few years the gap became very, very big and now it is not simple to find the solution in a short time.
"For this reason I am only focused with the players to work until the end and then we'll see. We have four months to give everything, but if we think we solve with the transfer market it is not a reality.
"You need many years. For sure you have to start, the level of the squad has to improve."
Conte undertook a thorough evaluation of his squad and those players he could 'count on' and who he could not, presenting his thoughts to the club at the end of last month.
Sunday's squad decisions confirmed that Lo Celso, Alli and Ndombele are all on the Italian's exit list, if they were not already very much aware.
While it seems a complete clear-out of one area of the squad and with Conte having admitted to football.london that his side does not have many creative players this week, it's difficult to argue with the decisions to move on the three, however talented the trio of 25-year-olds might be.
Ndombele and Lo Celso cost more than £110m all in between them yet have contributed a fraction of the output players with those sort of price tags should be expected to.
Both have now been at the club for two-and-a-half years and are more notable for the time they have spent on the sidelines than for what they have done on the pitch.
Ndombele is regarded by the coaches as the best player on the ball at the club but among the worst off of it and Conte is yet another manager who has struggled to tame a player who often appears to want to play the game his way rather than the team way.
Unlike his predecessors, Conte does not appear to believe the effort is worth it with the Frenchman.
Ndombele has been linked with a reunion with Mauricio Pochettino at PSG, but it remains to be seen whether a move can be agreed, with both Tottenham and the player likely to have to make compromises in order to make a return to France happen.
Lo Celso similarly has shown flashes of the ability that brought his price tag but not enough and his injuries, some picked up on international duty with Argentina, have chopped up his playing time at the club to such a degree that he's never been able to become a regular for any sustained period of time.
football.london understands that Sevilla are keen on bringing the former Real Betis midfielder back to La Liga before the end of the month.
Then there is Alli. He was once one of Europe's brightest young prospects as he performed a supporting role to Kane up front.
Slowly that role became more and more redundant in Pochettino's system with the emergence of Son Heung-min and subsequent managers could not find a place for a talented player who, following a series of hamstring problems, failed to adapt his game to new assignments.
Pochettino tried him on the left, Espirito Santo and Conte in a midfield three, but Alli has yet been able to rediscover his mojo and a move to a club that builds a team around his favoured role could be the key to his road back.
Both Everton and Newcastle have shown an interest in him in recent weeks and he would benefit from a move to either.
Paratici will be a busy man in the coming week and as usual he was striding around the pitch-side on his phone before kick-off.
During the game he spent much of it talking to his compatriot and goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini in the seat in front of him, the two becoming quite animated during parts of the encounter.
The hope within Tottenham is to try to make three signings before the window closes - a right wing-back, a central midfielder and if possible, a striker.
A planned move for another left-sided centre-back has currently been pushed to the summer but could be resurrected this month if more than one centre-back departs, with Japhet Tanganga and Joe Rodon linked with moves.
Whether the potential exits of all three of the club's attacking central midfielders brings a need for another creative player remains to be seen.
There is a confidence within the club that deals will be done to improve Conte's squad and it's not hard to imagine the Italian's demeanour and public words if it doesn't happen.
The expected move for Wolves winger Adama Traore is understood to have been driven mainly by the desire of Paratici, who has tracked the Spaniard - another 25-year-old - for a couple of years and made a big offer to try to sign him during his Juventus days.
Paratici believes that not only can the powerful speedster provide another attacking threat but he can also be converted into a wing-back by Conte, who is open to the idea of the £20m wide man's arrival.
When it comes to the central midfield, Spurs are looking at various options.
football.london understands that Paratici remains a huge admirer of 23-year-old USA international Weston McKennie, who he took to Juventus from Schalke in 2020, but a move this month would be difficult.
The versatile Texan can play either as a box to box midfielder, a defensive one or on the right or left of midfield.
McKennie has been starting regularly for Juventus this season, around a knee injury in early December, and his goal against Udinese last week was his fourth of the season for the Turin outfit.
Paratici is understood to have spoken to the players' representatives about a potential move, although a January switch would be unlikely at the moment with Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri not believed to be keen on losing the American midway through the campaign.
Another Serie A midfield player Paratici is a fan of is AC Milan midfielder Franck Kessie. The 25-year-old is currently playing at the Africa Cup of Nations for the Ivory Coast.
While Milan would be happy to get a fee for the midfielder, who is out of contract in the summer, there is a belief that the player would prefer to wait until the summer to try to win the title with his club and also maximise the money he would make out of any deal, without clubs needing to pay a transfer fee.
The difficulties in signing a player currently competing in the international tournament in Cameroon add another level of complexity to any potential deal.
A potentially cheaper and more available option linked to Tottenham is another 25-year-old in Fiorentina's Sofyan Amrabat. He is represented by the same agency - ICM Stellar Sports - as Gareth Bale, Ben Davies and Joe Rodon and his representatives are believed to have been looking for potential new clubs for him this month.
The Dutch-born Morocco international was a regular in his first season following his switch from Hellas Verona but has struggled for minutes during this campaign, with AC Milan also believed to be considering a move.
There is also former Liverpool midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum, who almost joined Spurs in 2016.
The 31-year-old has been in and out of Pochettino's starting line-up this season at PSG and has been suggested as a potential makeweight in any deal for Ndombele going to the French capital.
However, the Dutchman's age does not mark him out as the typical profile for a Tottenham signing, particularly with wages that would be more than many in the north London outfit's squad.
When it comes to the striker position, Paratici's ideal signing is - like many clubs - Fiorentina's young hotshot Dusan Vlahovic.
However, there is a feeling that Spurs missed their chance in not pushing harder for the Serbian star last summer.
The 21-year-old, who has 18 months left on his contract, is scoring goals for fun again in Serie A, with 20 in 24 appearances so far this campaign and is not believed to be keen to leave mid-season.
Many sides, including Spurs' north London rivals Arsenal, are closely watching the situation with Vlahovic and the total financial package involved for him, including his transfer fee and wages, could price him out of Tottenham's ball park.
The biggest opponent Paratici faces this month is the January window itself.
He has a head coach making it clearer and clearer very publicly that he needs new signings and leaving out players he wants to sell.
Yet all of this is happening in a month when few clubs want to part with players of a quality that would greatly improve Conte's squad.
Paratici has a well-known tactic of drawing up a list of up to 10 targets for every vacant position he wants to fill in his squad and then negotiating with the agents of many of them in order to quickly advance deals if the clubs begin talks and near an agreement.
The problem right now is just how many of those top tier candidates he desires for Spurs' three priority positions are available this month.
Even Conte was hinting to football.london this week that the club simply needed anyone, regardless of whether it was a good opportunity or not.
"I know that the transfer window in January is always very difficult and it is more simple when you start the season to buy important players," he said on Tuesday.
"In January it is not easy, but at the same time we know very well that if there is the opportunity and also if it's not the best opportunity, but we need to do something.
"I repeat that this could not be the best opportunity but I think that we are in a situation where we have to try to implement the squad because the squad is not so big."
Selling or loaning out all of the three midfielders left out on Sunday, with Matt Doherty, Rodon and Tanganga also linked with moves out of the club, would mean a lot of incoming players to ensure the squad does not shrink further.
It seems unlikely that Spurs will be that busy in what is just seven days remaining.
Paratici has to balance everything up and with no movement in the preceding 23 days of the window has left himself a manic race to the finish line.
