Solid Showing from Spurs to Beat Brighton

Wednesday 16th March 2022 - 7:30pm

Match Report

Brighton & Hove Albion 0 – 2 Tottenham Hotspur

Venue: American Express Community Stadium, Brighton

Competition: English Premier League

"Pre-Match Thoughts – After that crushing defeat to United at the weekend we'd all welcome a Spurs win here tonight. Brighton will want the win just as much though having lost their last five matches. On the other hand, that demonstrates what poor form they're in, and how we should be taking all three points.

We'll be in turmoil if we lose this one, so for all of our sake I hope it's a win. I'm saying 3-1 Spurs."

Still no Skipp or Sessegnon due to injuries. Conte went with the same line-up that started the United game.

5' Kane was quick to close down Brighton's goalkeeper Sánchez after he'd come out of his area to receive a nervy back pass. Kane nipped a toe in to knock the ball by him and had the goal gaping as Sánchez scrambled to get back. It was a tight angle and on his left foot which resulted in him passing across the open goal and wide of the far post. Big chance you'd expect him to have put away.

6' Dier jumped to head a ball clear and was elbowed by Maupay challenging him for it. He went down with a nasty cut above his eye which provoked players and fans to call for a red card. Only a yellow was given, and a bandaged up Dier soldiered on.

Not much happened for half an hour, with Kane especially looking off the pace.

"You know Spurs aren't playing well when Ben Davies is taking a pot shot from 35 yards."

37' GOAL! Romero had it in space on the right side, he clipped it over to Davies in the centre who played it on to Reguilón down the left wing, he passed it against a Brighton player and it fell fortuitously to Son just inside the area. Son teased the defence before turning to find Kulusevski on the edge of the box, he shot first time left footed, it deflected off Romero's shin and crept into the bottom corner. 1-0.

42' Kulusevski chased down a long ball and got his reward as a defender tried to head clear but headed it straight into him. It cannoned off his chest and saw him in one-on-one with the goalkeeper. Sánchez raced out and read Kulusevski's left-footed finish to save with an outstretched leg. Big chance wasted.

48' Kane won a free-kick in a dangerous position and immediately insisted on taking it. He stepped up and blazed it over the bar. We've seen that all too often when he takes them...

"Thoughts at Half-Time – Not the most exciting match so far. Spurs have definitely been on top but have struggled to create clear-cut chances. Thankfully we found a breakthrough courtesy of a Romero deflection, and it should have been two when Kulusevski found himself in one-on-one. Let's hope we come out with a few more ideas in the second half and find more goals to secure all three points."

47' Cucurella worked his way down the left wing before whipping a low ball across the face of goal. Thankfully no Brighton forward could get on the end of it and Reguilón was there to clear the danger.

57' GOAL! Højbjerg with the help of Kulusevski won it on the edge of our box and was quick to release it to Bentancur, he drove forward through the centre of the pitch before sliding it through to Kane who'd timed his run to perfection and found himself through on goal. Sánchez was in two minds whether to race out or stay put and Kane wasted no time slotting it into the bottom left corner first time with his left boot. 2-0.

72' Kane drilled a peach of a pass from inside his own half over to Reguilón racing down the left side. He collected it and ran in on goal. Son was open in the middle but Reguilón opted to take a shot from a tight angle that Sánchez saved with relative ease. Another big chance wasted.

88' Spurs dangerous on the break again. Kane and Højbjerg hounded down the ball and won it in the Brighton half. Højbjerg carried it forward before playing it right to Kane. He had Kulusevki open to his right but opted to strike a curler from the edge of the box that Sánchez dived to save.

90'+4' Kane looked hungry for another goal and sized up the Brighton defence just inside their area. He shifted this way and that before taking it to his left and being kicked over by a clumsy Brighton defender. The ref and VAR deemed it no penalty despite him CLEARLY being kicked across the knees. Ridiculous decision.

90'+4' Another driven diagonal from Kane set Reguilón in on goal again. Unfortunately his finish wasn't up to scratch and Sánchez saved from him for a second time.

"Thoughts at Full-Time – Just what we needed today, a dominant performance from Spurs and it could have been four or five by the end. Hopefully that gives them the confidence to kick on and string a few wins together, though that tonight does continue our current run of win lose win lose win lose. We need to break that against West Ham at the weekend."

Tottenham Player Ratings

• 1. Hugo Lloris – 6 – Had very little to do. Will be pleased to have kept a clean sheet nonetheless.

• 4. Cristian Romero – 8.5 – Another solid performance. Relished getting up the pitch too, kept passing it then bombing on to be involved in the attack. It can lead to him being caught out of position, but can also lead to how he found his first goal for the club, as Kulusevski's shot deflected off him and found the corner. Confident in the tackle and good passer of the ball too. Picked up yet another yellow card.

• 15. Eric Dier – 8 – Good display from him too. Won countless headers despite being bandaged up with a gashed head in the opening stages. Got in the way to make some vital blocks as well.

• 33. Ben Davies– 8 – Defended dutifully and carried the ball forward into space whenever he had the chance to. Lovely last gasp tackle towards the end, it was clean and crucial.

• 2. Matt Doherty – 6 – Not bad, not great. Played a few dodgy passes, but also played some handy ones when going forward. Still much better than he was earlier in the season.

• 5. Pierre-Emile Højbjerg – 7.5 – Strong in the tackle and quick to release it to get things moving. Worked hard throughout as always.

• 30. Rodrigo Bentancur – 9 – Classy performance from him in the middle of the park which is good to see after a disappointing outing against United. Loves a sliding tackle and timed a few of them to perfection to win back possession and prevent danger. Chipped in with a number of slick passes forward, including the assist for Kane's goal.

• 3. Sergio Reguilón – 7 – Full of running up and down that left side again. Got back well to make a sliding block on one occasion. Should have done better with the two chances presented to him by Kane in the second half. Finishing clearly isn't a strong point of his.

• 21. Dejan Kulusevski – 7.5 – Thought he'd scored the opener until he realised his shot had deflected off Romero. Eager to get on the ball and make things happen again. Shows good composure and an eye for a pass that really helps us when going forward.

• 7. Son Heung-min – 6 – Very quiet again. Really struggles to get into the game in this formation where he's forced to play in a more central role. Did find Kulusevski well in the build up for the opener. Would have liked to have seen Bergwijn given an opportunity. Eventually subbed with ten to go, but it could have come a lot sooner.

• 10. Harry Kane – 8.5 – Looked off it in the first half but showed real quality in the second. Slotted away beautifully to make it 2-0. Drove two golf-like passes out to Reguilón to put him in on goal. Worked his arse off holding up play, stringing passes together and winning free-kicks. Good to see passion from him when celebrating in front of the Spurs faithful, even jumped up to volley a flying coke bottle.

Substitutions:

• 7. Son Heung-min ⬅ 80' ➡ 27. Lucas Moura – 5 – Didn't do much.

• 2. Matt Doherty ⬅ 80' ➡ 12. Emerson Royal – 6 – Showed a few nice touches.

• 21. Dejan Kulusevski ⬅ 90'+2' ➡ 23. Steven Bergwijn – N/A – Not given enough time again.

Man of the Match – 30. Rodrigo Bentancur