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Tottenham Hotspur traveled to the AMEX Stadium on Saturday, with their season hanging in the balance. Mauricio Pochettino’s side was coming into the game on the back of a crushing 2-7 defeat at the hands of Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League, in midweek. Spurs were also losing ground on Liverpool and Manchester City in the Premier League and were 6th in the table before the start of the game. Their opponents, Brighton & Hove Albion, had just 1 win in the Premier League ahead of the tie and Tottenham were expected to make short work of the Seagulls.
Mauricio Pochettino had an almost full-strength team to call upon, with the exceptions of Serge Aurier, who was suspended and the injured duo of Ryan Sessegnon and Giovani Lo Celso. The Argentinean, as such, named a strong team for the tie.
Tottenham Hotspur Starting XI: Hugo Lloris; Moussa Sissoko, Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen, Ben Davies; Eric Dier, Tanguy Ndombele, Christian Eriksen; Erik Lamela, Harry Kane, Son Heung-min.
Contrary to the expectations, it was the home side who started the game stronger, when Neal Maupay capitalized on a Hugo Lloris mistake and gave his team the lead. Aaron Connolly shocked the visitors by doubling the lead in the 32nd minute and the game went into the break with the score 2-0.
In the second half, Tottenham tried to find the breakthrough, but the Seagulls continued their inspired form. Connolly scored his second of the night in the 65th minute, which turned out to be the final nail in the coffin for the visitors, as Brighton won the game 3-0. Here are 5 talking points from the game.
#5 Tottenham failed to recover from the early blow
Tottenham Hotspur arrived at the game with their confidence hitting rock bottom. Mauricio Pochettino’s men had won just 1 of their last 5 games in all competitions. Besides the humiliation in the UEFA Champions League, Spurs had already exited the Carabao Cup and were also losing ground on Premier League leaders Liverpool.
While many expected Tottenham to hit back against Brighton, Pochettino’s men were shocked when they went behind as early as the 3rd minute. It was a sign of things to come, as the visitors never really recovered.
#4 Hugo Lloris injury adds to Tottenham misery
The Frenchman has blown hot and cold in recent times, a period where he has been error-prone at the back. Against Brighton, Hugo Lloris had another day to forget. The Frenchman had the easy task of receiving a simple Pascal Gross cross in the third minute, but Lloris fumbled on the ball, dropping it with Neal Maupay lurking nearby. The French striker headed the ball into the back of the net and Tottenham was behind early in the game. However, that was just the start of Tottenham’s problems.
During the process, Lloris fell backwards and injured his left arm. The Frenchman received treatment on the pitch for 6 minutes and also required oxygen during that time. He was taken off on a stretcher, visibly in pain and had to be administered morphine in the dressing room, before heading to the local hospital.
The Frenchman’s injury looks serious and it could be another deafening blow to Mauricio Pochettino.
#3 Tottenham attackers had a quiet outing
Mauricio Pochettino opted for a front line of Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, Erik Lamela and Christian Eriksen, but Tottenham could only muster 3 shot on target in the game. Kane had an off day, failing to register a single shot on target and Tottenham certainly missed his precision in the final third. Son was equally poor, even though he did register 3 successful dribbles. Lamela also failed to register a shot on target, as Tottenham simply did not create enough chances to cause Brighton too much trouble.
Christian Eriksen, whose season is rapidly moving from bad to worse, was equally poor in the final third, although, he was the only attacking player to register a shot on target. The Dane’s passing was also off the mark on the day, as Eriksen could only manage a 77% passing accuracy. It was a game where Tottenham’s attacking players were not allowed to flourish, which ultimately led to their downfall.
#2 Brighton dominated the game
Right from the start of the game, Graham Potter’s men were positive and inspired on the pitch. Brighton pressed well and was determined to stamp their authority in the game. They did have a stroke of luck in the first goal, but in the end, the result was fully deserved. The home side did not go on the defensive after getting the lead, instead, they aspired to score more goals and in the end, their efforts bore fruits.
Brighton won the midfield battle early in the game and also dictated the run of play. Their passing was good and they even matched Tottenham for possession and passing accuracy. Brighton ended the game with 17 shots compared to Spurs’ 8, which clearly showed their dominance on the day. The home side also had 6 shots on target, while the visitors could only manage 3.
Very few people expected Brighton to take the game to Tottenham, but that was exactly what the Seagulls did. And it turned out to be a masterstroke.
#1 Tottenham’s season going from bad to worse
Mauricio Pochettino had quite a few wrinkles on his forehead at the end of the game and it was easy to see why. It was Tottenham Hotspur’s 17th defeat in all competitions in the year – the highest among the top teams in Europe. The signs are not good for the Argentinean, whose team could be in the lower half of the table at the end of the weekend, depending on the results.
Tottenham has now lost 4 of their last 5 games in all competitions and Mauricio Pochettino’s team has come a long way from being the UEFA Champions League finalist last season to letting in 10 goals in the last 2 games this term. They are now 13 points behind league leaders Liverpool and the pre-season talks of mounting a title challenge seem like a distant dream at the moment. While a turnaround is still likely, it has to be immediate or else even a top 6 finish could also be elusive Tottenham Hotspur this season.
