Tottenham Hotspur came back from 2-0 down to claim a point at Brighton & Hove Albion, thanks to a vastly improved second-half performance.
Brighton took the lead when Yankuba Minteh exploited Tottenham’s high line, rounding Guglielmo Vicario to slot home. When Yasin Ayari’s powerful shot from the edge of the box made it 2-0, the game looked done by the half-hour mark.
But Richarlison scrambled home his third goal of the season before half-time, and a dangerous Mohammed Kudus cross was deflected into his own net by Brighton defender Jan Paul van Hecke, as Spurs dominated the ball in the second half.
The Athletic’s Jay Harris assesses the action…
Cranking up the pressure pays off
This was a huge test for Thomas Frank. Spurs have been exceptional this season when they have taken the lead against teams but on the only other previous occasion when they conceded first, in a 1-0 defeat against Bournemouth, they never came close to scoring.
Spurs have struggled to create chances from open play since Frank took charge and Brighton repelled their corners easily as Kudus’ deliveries were underwhelming. Could Spurs show a different side of themselves under their new head coach?
Even if there was an element of fortune about both of their goals, the way Spurs aggressively attacked Brighton in the second half deserves a lot of praise. Frank was proactive with his substitutions and threw on more offensive players. The key to unlocking Brighton’s defence was Xavi Simons, who was superb. Frank will have to answer awkward questions about why Simons did not start this game but maybe the head coach was conscious of not overplaying him. The Netherlands international only joined the club in the final week of the transfer window.
The scenes at full-time underlined the growing bond between Frank and the fans. What could have been an ugly defeat on the south coast for the third year in a row turned into a valuable point. Frank and the supporters applauded each other and it felt like a performance that they would learn a lot from.
Spurs showed resilience under pressure and great character to come from behind. There were not many occasions when you could have said the same about them last season.
A first glimpse of Xavi Simons in the middle
Everybody assumed that Spurs signed Simons to play as a No 10 but he started on the left wing in his first two appearances against West Ham United and Villarreal.
Simons dropped to the bench against Brighton but came on in the 61st minute to replace Rodrigo Bentancur. He was involved straight away as he lashed a right-footed shot wide from after Destiny Udogie charged into the box. Bentancur and Simons are very different players. Simons’ introduction was an acknowledgement from Frank that he needed to be more adventurous to try to rescue a point but crucially, it did not prompt Lucas Bergvall to drop back.
They combined on multiple occasions. Simons received the ball deep in Brighton’s half and waited until the perfect moment before playing a clever pass to Bergvall, who could not control it in the box.
Simons naturally drifted out wide to the left and in the 67th minute, he dribbled past a couple of players before trying to bend a right-footed shot into the box that Bart Verbruggen saved.
It felt like Simons created more chances and had more shots in his first five minutes on the pitch than his team-mates managed in the first hour without him. A few moments later, Bergvall dummied Kudus’ cross and Simons had another chance but he failed to make a good enough connection. In the 80th minute, he slalomed past multiple challenges and set up Richarlison, who shot straight at Verbruggen.
Just when it looked like Simons would not be able to inspire a comeback against Brighton, he picked up the ball in the middle of the pitch and found Kudus out wide. The Ghana international’s cross was deflected into his own net by Van Hecke for the equaliser. Simons is already showing why he is going to be a star for Spurs.
Defence too easily pulled out of shape
Tottenham’s defence has looked rock-solid under Frank but Brighton pulled them apart. Frank changed the back four for the first time this season, starting Destiny Udogie, who has just recovered from a knee injury, instead of Djed Spence.
Frank spoke on Friday about how Udogie offers them a different dimension on the left-hand side from Spence, who is predominantly right-footed. It was fresh on his mind because Simons and Spence kept occupying the same areas in their 1-0 victory against Villarreal on Tuesday night. Udogie overlapped Wilson Odobert on multiple occasions against Brighton and whipped dangerous crosses into the box, but he struggled to cope with Minteh.
Brighton’s opening goal started deep in their own half. Minteh shrugged Odobert off the ball before darting past the halfway line. Udogie and Micky van de Ven were caught far too high up the pitch, allowing Minteh to charge unchallenged towards goal before rounding Vicario.
It was not a one-off incident. Georginio Rutter found himself in a similar situation but he was held up by Van de Ven. Rutter worked the ball inside and Brajan Gruda’s fierce drive was saved by Vicario at the second attempt.
Frank’s aggressive man-marking approach has paid dividends in other fixtures this season but against Brighton, their defence was dragged out of position too often and the gaps were exposed.
What did Frank say?
We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.
What next for Spurs?
Wednesday, September 24: Doncaster Rovers (Home), Carabao Cup third round, 7.45pm UK, 2.45pm ET
(Top photo: Alex Pantling/Getty Images)