Only Tottenham could have played a worn-out, unimpressive game and trail 4-0 after 81 minutes, then mount a late comeback that very well might have resulted in an unexpected point.
With five minutes remaining, if Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s extra time curling shot against the right-hand post had instead bounced in and made it 4-3, the visiting team would have gained all the momentum.
Spurs’ night at the Amex Stadium would have been more than a temporary, patched-up affair, and they owed a debt of gratitude to Guglielmo Vicario for his all-action goalkeeping performance, which kept the scoreline from getting out of hand by halftime.
The late flurry from Tottenham evened up the stats somewhat, the visiting side in fact had more shots at goal with 19 to Brighton’s 14, but only put three on target. The Seagulls had less of the possession with 45% and 379 passes to Spurs’ 456 but it was Vicario who had to make five saves to Jason Steele’s one.
Tottenham ultimately fell up short of pulling off a stunning comeback, and as the last minutes passed, it was evident that they were frustrated.
Pedro took his time walking away, the South Americans giving him theirs. Emerson Royal shoved his countryman in the direction of the dugout, only for Giovani Lo Celso to hand up the penalty that Pedro converted.
his second of the game from, to run over to the Brighton forward and whisper something in his ear with his mouth covered to the cameras.
Whatever Lo Celso said irked the 22-year-old enough for him to push the Argentine away from him, who also got a shove in back, before the Seagulls attacker turned and geed up the crowd. Richarlison also shouted something from the Spurs bench as the scene dissipated.
The Brazil vs Argentina rivalry clearly remains alive and well on the south coast but it was another night when discipline went missing for Postecoglou’s men.
As delicate as Lo Celso’s quiet conversation with Pedro, Dejan Kulusevski received his fifth yellow card of the season for a shirt pull on Danny Welbeck in the Spurs box. In the Everton encounter, the Swede had acted same with Amadou Onana, but he had gotten away with it that day. This will only help Lo Celso as he will miss Sunday’s match against Bournemouth.
After five months of play, Postecoglou’s players have already received seven different suspensions: two for Udogie, one for Cristian Romero, three for Yves Bissouma, and now one for Kulusevski.
In the midst of the club’s current injury issue, it has proven to be the most costly area that the Spurs players can control. Vicario’s run of saves was broken by penalties given to Brighton by Kulusevski’s grab and Lo Celso’s clumsy lunge on Evan Ferguson.
When asked about the first penalty, Postecoglou took the opportunity to criticise VAR once more and the length of time it takes to make decisions. However, he also brought up Lewis Dunk, the captain of Brighton, who made a late lunge on Kulusevski that resembled the high-flung challenges that have resulted in Romero and Bissouma receiving red cards in recent weeks.
“VAR picked up everything today but for the one tackle that almost cost me another player, so it was very blatant and obvious that it only took him three minutes to see it on the screen. Thus, that’s their choice,” the Spurs manager stated.
The Australian continued, “Look, fair to say we were looking a bit tired and lacked our usual sharpness, especially at the start of the game.” He was speaking about Tottenham’s performance that evening. We’ve had good game starts lately. That makes sense, I suppose, as we’ve been requiring gamers to perform at certain levels for a time now.
Our physical style of play is really demanding, and today we seemed to be a less-than-optimal team. Brighton is a strong team, and they exploited that. In the end, all I can ask for is that the players give everything they have, and that is all I know.
“The players are giving me whatever they have. I’m out of questions for them. A very tiny portion of our team has put in a tonne of work to get us where we are, and they continued to do so today. They have demonstrated that all year. They will donate anything they have. You can only beg for that.”
In his post-match interview, captain Son Heung-min, however, demanded more of the worn-out team.
“This performance is quite underwhelming. We haven’t approached the season in this manner. We want to play at a higher level, and this performance fell well short of that,” he remarked. “We acknowledge our shortcomings, but since the games are approaching quickly, it is not the appropriate moment to assign blame to one another.
Rather than discussing the conclusion, we should focus on the first half and the early stages of the second half. We are aware from the start that we must play that way. We must learn the lesson once more and move on. The Premier League is a very competitive league, and we will suffer if we don’t play well in the final fifteen minutes of every match. This needs to be a major wake-up call.
A suffering defence
On Thursday night, Tottenham’s defence appeared just as it had always done: four full-backs trying and failing to play as a cohesive unit around the game.
It was the fourth time the four players had played as a line together, and in those three games, they had already given up nine goals.
During the first half, there were moments when it felt like watching a north London team trying to contain Chelsea with nine men while fielding the same number of players as Brighton, who were also beset by injuries.
As a matter of fact, since the beginning of November, Tottenham and Nottingham Forest have combined to concede 19 goals in the Premier League, and over that same time, Tottenham’s xG against has been the highest (21.4).
To put things in perspective, Spurs have the third-highest xG in the league at the other end of the pitch (1.82 goals per game), and they have surpassed that mark with 2.05 goals per game. Their xG is 2.15 at home, which is the second-highest in the league, and 1.49 away, which is the sixth-highest.
The injuries in defence have been pivotal. There’s no getting away from the fact that if you take either of Cristian Romero or Micky van de Ven out of the team then there’s a huge hole in the backline, let alone the problems caused by losing both.
Although Ben Davies has performed brilliantly in his role as a substitute center-back—he demonstrated this on Thursday night when he added a fantastic header while on the run at the other end—he needs a natural center-back to play alongside him.
In a totally new role, Emerson Royal gives it his all and makes six tackles, three clearances, and one interception, but he loses all of his aerial duels. On top of his three tackles, one interception, one clearance, and the late headed goal from Pedro Porro’s cross, Davies instead won five.
Ben Davies requires a natural center-back to play beside him, despite his excellent performance as a substitute center-back, as he showcased on Thursday night when he contributed a great header while on the move at the other end.
Emerson Royal steps into a completely different role and gives it his all, making three clearances, one interception, and six tackles, but he loses every aerial duels. Davies instead won five in addition to his three tackles, one interception, one clearance, and the late headed goal from Pedro Porro’s cross.
Emerson had performed admirably as a left-back against Everton, so there was probably some motivation to keep him in the lineup to reward his efforts. However, the supporters are still puzzled as to why young center-backs Ashley Phillips and Alfie Dorrington have yet to receive a single minute of playing time.
Both of the 18-year-olds are capable of passing the ball under duress, and Postecoglou has a track record of giving young players an opportunity if he believes they are ready. That may be the main issue—the Australian isn’t yet persuaded by what he is witnessing in training that either of them is actually prepared to play in the Premier League.
pitch, even if he says they should be if necessary and they are both regularly listed on the bench.
Regarding Phillips, Postecoglou stated on Wednesday that “he’s ready, he’s available, he’s training right now.” He’s there, buddy, so we’ll deliver it to him when the chance arises.”
For a while now, both insiders and outside of Tottenham have held Dorrington in high regard.
Postecoglou stated, “He’s been in the squad the last three or four weeks,” in response to a question concerning the England U19 international earlier this month. Jamie [Donley] and Alfie, who hit it off, are training with us and are a part of the
first team so they may demonstrate their abilities and be part on a daily basis.
“At the moment we are really thin on defensive numbers so maybe he will get an opportunity over the next couple of weeks.”
Neither young defender has yet to be given the opportunity, and supporters of Tottenham are watching other teams that are dealing with injury issues and giving teenagers a chance to succeed.
Spurs have faced Newcastle, whose 17-year-old Lewis Miley is becoming well-known, just in the last few weeks. Jarrad Branthwaite, a young center-back for Everton who started playing for them as a youth and is now a well-established first team standout at age 21, is someone Tottenham strongly admires.
Jack Hinshelwood, an 18-year-old midfielder, opened the score for Brighton on Thursday night with a powerful strike that sailed past Vicario. Pedro had slipped past Hojbjerg, Richarlison, and Emerson’s feeble challenges in order to set up Hinshelwood, who had entered covertly and unseen by Udogie.
The teenager’s goal was his second in his last four starts. It’s important to note that Donley, Phillips, Dorrington, and Hinshelwood are all teammates for the England U19 squad.
Since Postecoglou’s team is already the youngest in the Premier League in terms of average age, it is always a tricky balance to determine when to deploy a young player for fear of stunting their growth and confidence if they are put in too early and struggle.
While Dorrington has not yet played senior football and Phillips has only played eight Championship games with Blackburn from the previous season, it must be acknowledged that neither of them is any different from Miley or Hinshelwood.
