Tottenham Hotspur put an end to their three-game losing streak with a 2-1 victory over Brighton and Hove Albion away from home. On a rainy night, there wasn’t much to separate the two sides but Spurs showed a bit of quality to edge out the Seagulls in a hard-fought encounter.
Chris Hughton’s side sat back in the first half and allowed Spurs to attack. Harry Kane’s penalty gave Spurs the lead three minutes from the halfway mark.
However, the game lit up in the second half as the home side pushed forward in quest of an equalizer. They nearly found one midway through the second half but Anthony Knockaert failed to guide the ball past the goalkeeper in a one-on-one situation.
Much against the run of play, substitute Erik Lamela doubled the lead for Spurs in the 76th minute before Knockaert pulled one back for the Seagulls in stoppage time. However, it was just a mere consolation for the home team.
The Argentine did not have much to do as Brighton sat deep for large quarters of the game. However, he looked quite good with his positioning and handled the crosses well.
The English international took the free-kick which led to the handball incident. He tried to provide impetus to the attack but the end product wasn’t good enough. He looked pretty rusty at the back and was exposed on a couple of occasions by Solly March.
The Belgian centre-back was quite solid at the back and kept Glenn Murray at bay. He looked calm and composed and did not allow much space for the attackers to exploit.
Toby Alderweireld (7/10)
Another good performance by the Belgian. He looked quite assured in possession and did not make any notable mistakes at the back.
Danny Rose (7/10)
The English international played in the attacking third for large quarters of the game and provided the cross from which Lamela scored the second goal. He wasn’t good defensively and should have done more to prevent Knockaert from scoring the consolation goal.
Mousa Dembele (7/10)
The Belgian dictated the tempo of the game with his impressive range of passing in the heart of the midfield. He ventured forward at times and linked the play with the attackers.
Eric Dier (7/10)
He was good with his passing and switched the play with some accurate diagonal balls from the centre of the pitch. He closed down the spaces in the midfield and did not allow the opposition to run forward with ease.
Lucas Moura (6/10)
The Brazilian had an average day at the office. He did not make any mistakes but found it difficult to penetrate through a rather imperious Brighton defence.
Heung-min Son (6/10)
Just like Lucas, Son looked quite good with the ball and tried some shots from long-range but lacked the penetration as Brighton defended in numbers.
Christian Eriksen (7/10)
The Danish playmaker linked the play effectively with Lucas and Harry Kane up front. He looked good with his subtle movement and provided that creative spark to the attack but seemed to be outnumbered by the defenders at times.
Harry Kane (8/10)
A top-draw performance by England’s golden boy in the second half. He scored from the spot and worked hard, making some intelligent runs with the ball and testing the goalkeeper on numerous occasions.
He was a lively presence in the final third after coming off the bench. Scored the second goal with a clinical finish and had another shot on target.
Came on for Lucas but did not have time to make an impact.
