Tottenham threatened to stage a late comeback at Brighton but ultimately couldn’t make amends for an awful first 75 minutes as they slipped to a first defeat in four Premier League games.
Spurs have made a habit of scoring first under Ange Postecoglou but found themselves 2-0 down in 23 minutes at the Amex. First, 18-year-old Jack Hinshelwood smashed the ball high past William Vicar and then Joao Pedro scored from the penalty spot after Dejan Kulusevski pulled the shirt of Danny Welbeck.
Vicario denied Joao Pedro a third for Brighton James Milner hit the post, with Spurs’ Richarlison also hitting the upright in a pulsating first half.
Richarlison then had two goals (rightly) ruled out for offside. But Spurs were stunned when Pervis Estupinan smashed in a third Brighton goal with a fierce shot from the edge of the 18-yard box that was tracked at 60mph by TV broadcaster Amazon Prime.
The Brighton vs Spurs match dashboardshowing the threat timeline, territory, match stats, shot maps and pass networks
Joao Pedro scored a second penalty to make it 4-0 after Giovani Lo Celso fouled Evan Ferguson from behind. Spurs threatened a comeback when 20-year-old forward Alejo Veliz scored his first goal for the club on 81 minutes and Ben Davies headed in a second on five minutes from time. But despite dominating the latter stages of the game — with Peter-Emile Hojbjerg striking the post — they were unable to find another goal. As such, the defeat sees them remain fifth in the table, a point behind Manchester City.
Here, The Athletic’s Jack Pitt-Brooke explains what went wrong for Spurs.
Tottenham were missing almost a whole team here but the man they most missed was Cristian Romero. Postecoglou revealed before the game that Romero would be out for the next “four or five weeks” with a hamstring strain and this was a worrying reminder of how integral he is to this team, with and without the ball.
Emerson Royal deputised at centre-back — as he did against Aston Villa and Manchester City recently — but frankly, it was a disaster. Joao Pedro drove straight past Royal for Brighton’s first goal (after Welbeck had done the same minutes later), in a way Romero would simply never have allowed to happen.
Vicario had little chance with Estupinan’s goal but Spurs could have prevented others (Julian Finney/Getty Images)
And while Romero is masterful at building up the play and starting moves, Royal is not. Brighton pressed Royal relentlessly, knowing that he would not be able to cope. Nor did Tottenham, who could never get a foothold in the game.
So was Royal the only player struggling?
Not quite. This felt like one of those games from November when Postecoglou was relying on too many players who struggle to carry out his instructions. Not least Hojbjerg, brought into the No 6 position after Oliver Skipp suffered a knock this week.
Hojbjerg desperately struggled under pressure, leaving Tottenham unable to build up play or even keep the ball. When Hojbjerg did have it he looked panicky, trying to go direct but often hitting the ball out of play. He has worked hard this season and been a committed substitute at times but there is no avoiding the fact that he is not a like-for-like replacement for Yves Bissouma.
This was Hojbjerg’s fifth start of the season, none of them against top clubs, and Spurs have only won once, unconvincingly against Fulham. The other games, losses to Wolves, West Ham and now Brighton, have been characterised by Spurs’ struggle to play the Postecoglou way.
Did anything else go wrong?
Yes. It was not the main reason Spurs lost this game but their disciplinary record is becoming a serious problem. They have the joint-most red cards in the league this season with four — and how they miss Bissouma when he is not there to sit in front of the defence — and today was another disciplinary shambles.
Tottenham were well in the game at 1-0 but it turned when Kulusevski pulled Welbeck’s shirt in the box from a corner. Kulusevski is a clever player but this was a mindless mistake, making no attempt to play the ball and leaving the Video Assistant Referee damning footage which would only lead to one outcome.
Welbeck is pulled back by Kulusevski (Julian Finney/Getty Images)
He will now be banned for Sunday’s game with Bournemouth due to accumulation of yellow cards, although a late ankle injury may have ruled him out of the game anyway. Lo Celso also conceded a penalty for a tackle from behind on Ferguson, leading to Brighton’s fourth goal, which was so clear that VAR had little need to review. And that left Spurs so much to do that their late fightback was never truly on.
What did Postecoglou say?
“Look, fair to say we were looking a bit tired and lacked our usual sharpness, especially at the start of the game. We’ve been starting games well. I guess that’s understandable, we’ve been on this run for a while now and asking players to perform at levels… It’s very demanding the way we play physically and today we kind of looked like a team that wasn’t at its sharpest. Brighton are a good side and they took advantage of that. Ultimately what I do know is the players everything they had they gave and that’s all I can ask for.”
What next for Tottenham Hotspur?
Sunday, December 31: Bournemouth (H), Premier League, 2pm GMT, 9am ET
Spurs have about 65 hours to catch their breath before they host Andoni Iraola’s dangerous side.
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(Top photo: Gareth Fuller/PA Images via Getty Images))
