In all honesty, Tottenham Hotspur were fortunate to have even gotten a point out of their road trip to Brighton, as the Seagulls remain a real bogey team for Spurs. If it weren't for Richarlison's scrappy first and a lucky equalizing own goal, Spurs would have been left to rue a shutout loss a much more impressive Brighton side and even more negative water cooler talk from the Tottenham faithful.
And one of the biggest reasons for Tottenham not completely botching the game was the second half inclusion of Xavi Simons, who stepped in for veteran midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur and manned the No. 10 role.
Xavi was the spark Spurs needed all along, as he was the first player from midfield to actually drive into the box and look positive. He was the only midfielder on Tottenham in the entire game who was creating and taking shots for himself, as well as slotting others into position to score.
Simons reminded Thomas Frank that leaving him out of the starting lineup - or playing him anywhere else other than the 10 - is tantamount to malpractice. He was obviously the difference-maker for Tottenham in this game, changing their fortunes, and just about everyone and their nan knows that Simons has to start. That's what they paid for.
Destiny Udogie is underrated
But Simons wasn't actually Spurs best player in the game from start to finish. That honor belongs to left back Destiny Udogie, who has returned to health and reclaimed the starting spot on the left in competition with Djed Spence, one of the best one-on-one defenders in world football.
Udogie didn't look half bad defensively against an exciting Brighton attack either, and he, of course, offers more going forward than Spence can. That attacking verve is especially important to Tottenham, because they already have a world-class center back partnership. What they don't have, though, is a world-class left winger - or even one who looks starting caliber in the Premier League.
The 22-year-old turned in a crisp, underrated performance. You could scarcely hear a peep down his flank defensively, while he did a solid job of progressing play on the ball and with accurate passing. Udogie has been one of the better left backs in the Premier League since arriving from Udinese, and given the balance of the squad, you'd also have to put him in the starting lineup as a regular. Both he and Simons made very strong cases for themselves, even amidst a disappointing team display.