Brighton 3-2 Tottenham: Brighton comeback to beat Spurs
Brighton 3-2 Tottenham: Brighton comeback to beat Spurs. In shocking turn of events, saw Tottenham Hotspur threw away a commanding lead to lose 3-2 at Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday afternoon, ending their five-game winning streak in all competitions.
Spurs flew into a 2-0 lead through Brennan Johnson and James Maddison but a second-half capitulation saw Yankuba Minteh, Georginio Rutter and Danny Welbeck all strike to complete a comeback for the Seagulls.
Spurs sit ninth in the Premier League table, two points behind Brighton in sixth.
How the game unfolded;
Tottenham were behind Brighton’s backline inside 30 seconds but Timo Werner put too much on his cross to prevent Johnson opening the scoring. Maddison was then played through soon after but had his volley courageously blocked by Adam Webster.
Spurs found space for their speedy wingers to enjoy and looked to have taken the lead when the ball was bundled in by Maddison after Bart Verbruggen saved from Werner, but the offside flag went up and the decision was ratified.
There was no doubt about Tottenham’s opener which arrived a few minutes later, however.
Destiny Udogie nicked possession off Carlos Baleba, allowing Maddison to find Dominic Solanke whose pass for precise enough for Johnson to run onto it and sweep in the opener.
Brighton needed to grow into the game after falling behind and did so, with Kaoru Mitoma looking menacing with his running and dangerous deliveries. The Japan international picked out a sliding Welbeck but the striker couldn’t get the right contact and the chance went begging.
Unfortunately for the Seagulls, the calamitous error from their goalkeeper made the mountain an even steeper one to climb.
A quick breakaway culminated with Werner finding Maddison on the edge of the box. The 27-year-old’s shot was a weak one but Verbruggen made a meal of it, the ball bursting through his hands and in.
The hosts’ high line was caught again moments before half-time as Johnson scampered through, but this time the Welshman ballooned his effort clear of the crossbar.
The visitors were well organised in the first half but had only themselves to blame as Brighton clawed one back at the start of the second period. Mitoma’s ball into the middle was misjudged by Udogie, who couldn’t clear effectively and instead allowed Minteh an easy shot on goal which he buried.
Albion were much sharper after the break, with Mitoma once again involved as he brought a save from Guglielmo Vicario at his near post. The visiting defence was then carved open as Brighton drew level.
Mitoma danced inside and found Rutter, who showed power to hold off Udogie and Micky van de Ven and find the opposite corner with his finish.
From the position of strength they boasted at half-time, Spurs were somehow 3-2 down by the 66th minute. Rutter kept the ball alive by sliding cross for Welbeck, who had an easy header past Vicario to give the hosts the lead.
Both sides made substitutions as the visitors tried to get back into the game while Brighton aimed to protect or increase their lead. However, the scoring was done for the day to cap a horrible afternoon for Ange Postecoglou and a brilliant one for Fabian Hurzeler.
