India Today

Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou slammed his team's performance against Brighton and Hove Albion and called it the 'worst defeat' since he took over as manager. Spurs suffered a shocking second-half collapse to lose 3-2 to Brighton in the Premier League, a result that left manager Postecoglou stunned. Spurs had been in complete control during the first half, with goals from Brennan Johnson and James Maddison putting them 2-0 up and seemingly on track for a sixth consecutive victory across all competitions.

However, Tottenham fell apart after the break, allowing Brighton to stage a remarkable comeback. Yankuba Minteh sparked the turnaround with a goal early in the second half, followed by strikes from Georginio Rutter and Danny Welbeck, which completed the stunning comeback and left Spurs with nothing to show for their early dominance.

In his post-match interview with Sky Sports, Postecoglou expressed his disbelief at the team's second-half performance, accusing his players of becoming complacent after building a comfortable lead.

"Disappointing. Frustrated and absolutely gutted with that. Worst defeat since I've been here," the Australian said.

"Unacceptable second half. Nowhere near where we should be. We got carried away with how we were going. We kind of accepted our fate and it is hard to understand as we've not done that while I've been here. We paid the price."

"The problem is we are travelling along too smoothly, football and life will trip you up if you get too far ahead of yourself. It is a terrible loss for us -- as bad as it gets."

A win would have propelled Tottenham to the edge of the top four, but the defeat leaves them ninth in the table, with 10 points from seven matches heading into the international break. Brighton, meanwhile, climbed to sixth, two points ahead of Spurs.

Postecoglou said that the players would process the result individually during the break and he would look into once the players return.

"They all go on international duty, the majority of them. They will process it individually and I will process it when everyone gets back," Postecoglou said.

Spurs will take on London rivals West Ham United on October 19 once the league restarts after the international break.

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Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has confirmed that Yves Bissouma will be suspended for Monday's Premier League opener against Leicester City after the midfielder shared footage on social media of himself ingesting laughing gas. The Mali international apologised after Snapchat videos surfaced showing him using the class C drug, widely known as nitrous oxide, and Spurs issued a statement saying it will be "dealt with as an internal matter."

During a Thursday press conference, Postecoglou suggested Bissouma had failed in his job as a role model and needed to re-establish trust in his teammates while he sits out the club's opening game of the season. "We've suspended Bissouma from Monday's game. He needs to build that trust back with both me and the group. The door is open for him but behaviour is crucial," Tottenham's manager Ange Postecoglou told the reporters on Thursday.

Bissouma posted a social media video on August 10 in which he was seen inhaling from a balloon containing the Class C drug known as laughing gas, for which he later apologised. "I want to apologise for these videos. This was a severe lack of judgement," Bissouma said in a statement on Monday, "I understand how serious this is and the health risks involved, and I also take my responsibility as a footballer and role model very seriously."

As part of the government's anti-social behaviour action plan, possessing nitrous oxide for recreational purposes has been a criminal crime in the UK from 2023 and can result in a prison sentence. "(I have) been in the game for a long time, when a situation like this arises, I've tried to look at them in a couple of ways. First there's a person and it's Biss and he's made a poor decision," Postecolglou added.

"There are still sanctions involved, and some of those are educational. He is a footballer with responsibilities."