It was an ugly, rainy afternoon on the south coast of England as Tottenham Hotspur took on a Brighton side that was winless in its first five Premier League matches. But despite taking a 2-0 lead into halftime, Tottenham couldn’t maintain the intensity and defensive solidity they showed in the opening 45 minutes. Spurs shipped three goals in the second half — to Yankuba Minteh, Georginio Rutter, and a late winner to former Gunner Danny Welbeck and limped to a disappointing 3-2 loss at the AmEx Stadium.
The match started out brightly for Tottenham, with Spurs getting a huge chance inside the first minute. Timo Werner and Brennan Johnson got space behind Brighton’s back line, and Timo put in a cross to an open BJ that was just a foot too far ahead for Johnson to convert. Tottenham had plenty of those opportunities in the opening 45, with Werner giving Veltman a torrid time on the left flank.
Brighton was forced into an early substitution after Webster pulled his hamstring on a goal kick and had to come off for Igor.
Spurs broke through in the 24th minute behind, you guessed it, Brennan Johnson. The high press forced a turnover inside Brighton’s half, James Maddison was able to pick out Solanke, who put a lovely through ball into the path of Johnson, who one-touched it home Great goal!
Spurs doubled their advantage late in the half thanks to James Maddison. Solanke again was the playmaker in this one, this time adding the hockey assist to Timo Werner, who played Madders in centrally. The shot should’ve been saved by Verbruggen who botched a routine stop, but it still counts and Spurs led 2-0.
Brighton had a few chances in the first half, mostly thanks to Kaoru Mitoma, who was excellent on the day. Their best was a square ball to an open Danny Welbeck who somehow shanked an easy shot wide of the post.
Brighton got back into the match early in the second half when Yankuba Minteh capitalized on two whiffed defensive clearances from Micky van de Ven and Destiny Udogie, tapping in a cross at the back post to make the match 1-2.
The discomfort didn’t stop for Spurs. Mitoma picked out Georgino Rutter on a counterattack in the 58th minute, who took a hit in the box but stayed upright and put a shot past Vicario to level the score at 2-2. And it got worse — Brighton completed the comeback thanks to Welbeck, who made up for his early miss by heading home Brighton’s third goal in the 66th minute.
Postecoglou made a few late subs, bringing in Pape Sarr and Yves Bissouma in the 78th minute and Mikey Moore at 85’, but despite snatching at a couple of late shots there wasn’t enough time to get an equalizer, much less a winner. The match ended a disappointing 3-2 to Brighton.
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