Baked by Easter sun and perhaps overburdened by expectation, Tottenham failed to put the hammer down on Arsenal. Instead, this stadium boiled in frustration and anxiety. For the second time in a week Brighton damaged a north London’s club’s top-four challenge, with Leandro Trossard’s late goal, stolen after Cristian Romero’s slip in his own box, repeating what happened to Arsenal at the Emirates.
Tottenham were aiming to win a fifth consecutive league match for the first time since December 2018, but if they are to end a two-season absence from the Champions League they must play with far greater intensity. Robert Sánchez in the Brighton goal barely had a save to make, his work usually done by a well-organised defence throwing in heroic blocks. Arsenal’s visit to Tottenham on 12 May now looms large, though Brentford, Leicester and Liverpool have to be negotiated first.
Brighton’s victory against Arsenal had ended a winless run that included a 2-0 home defeat to Spurs. Graham Potter, who was linked with the post vacated by Nuno Espírito Santo in early November before Antonio Conte’s appointment, has suffered through his team’s inability to score but always pointed to the quality of their play throughout that barren run. Those two goals at Arsenal represented two-thirds of Brighton’s output in their last eight Premier League matches and a less goal-shy team would surely have sealed all three points earlier than Trossard’s winner.
Alexis Mac Allister, in perpetual, snarling motion, buzzed around with intent, while Yves Bissouma patrolled expertly ahead of a four-man defence. Brighton pressed hard, closing space before the ball could reach Harry Kane in his trademark deep-lying positions. The visitors’ early dominance had Conte barking from the edge of this technical area. He stayed there throughout, though the Italian, like his team, seemed less amped than normal.
The loss of Matt Doherty for the rest of the season had brought Sergio Reguilón into the left wing-back position ahead of Ryan Sessegnon. Without the Irishman, a team that had scored 14 goals in four previous matches stalled, though Brighton deserve credit for cutting off the supply lines. It took until the 15th minute for Kane to have the ball in the Brighton box, and it proved a rarity.
Enock Mwepu’s early fizzer looked goalbound before it brushed off Ben Davies and behind, and then Joël Veltman had a shot blocked. Dejan Kulusevski, who had otherwise been struggling to get into the game, was booked for flinging an elbow at Marc Cucurella in frustration. It was as prominent as the Swede got before being withdrawn in favour of Lucas Moura.
As Brighton piled up the first-half pressure, Rodrigo Bentancur cleared away a Veltman flick after a Pascal Gross corner, and was also booked for taking down Bissouma in midfield. Spurs’ frustrations were shared by the home fans beginning to sniff an archetypal slip-up. There were howls of expectation when the ball briefly looked to have fallen to Kane, only for Cucurella to whip it away followed by groans when the striker broke into a limp.
Kane swiftly recovered his step if not his influence, and Spurs went into the half-time break with a wobble very much in the offing. Much of their energy had gone into getting Mwepu a second yellow, first for colliding with Ben Davies and then a tackle on Pierre-Emile Højbjerg. Both would have been soft decisions, especially considering Kulusevski’s earlier escape, but Potter took the hint and removed the Zambian at half-time in favour of Danny Welbeck.
As Brighton continued to press in the second half, Spurs’ frustrations continued. Son, previously a passenger, had a shot blocked by Veltman, and then another by Trossard. Just before the hour, Brighton’s problems in scoring goals were illustrated by a hopeless shank wide by Welbeck, which was greeted with jeers from home supporters looking for comfort amid their own team’s failings. Right after that, Moisés Caicedo’s poor first touch bailed out an Emerson Royal error as Brighton continued to threaten, with Mac Allister also firing over.
With Harry Winks introduced into midfield, Spurs stepped it up in the last 15 minutes. Højbjerg’s run to the byline and cutback went unrewarded as Reguilón slid past the ball. But Brighton compiled more chances, Welbeck heading one of them over before Romero slipped over as he tackled the substitute Adam Lallana, presenting Trossard with the chance to score the winner his team – and Tottenham – deserved.
source:theguardian