Brighton and Hove Albion defied the odds once again to take advantage of a chaotic encounter at The Amex Stadium and emerge 4-2 victors over Tottenham Hotspur.
Although Brighton were the beneficiaries of some questionable officiating and poor Spurs finishing, there was no doubt that the Seagulls deserved the win for the quality of their attacking play.
This level of performance, coupled with recent injuries to the club’s only fit senior wingers, Kaoru Mitoma and Simon Adingra, made the final scoreline scarcely believable.
Yet Roberto De Zerbi’s side got a crucial win to kick-start their push for the top seven spots, and there was much left to reflect upon for both teams.
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No wingers, no problems for Brighton
Having suffered a glut of injuries in defence and attack of late, it was only fair that Brighton were struck the same blow in midfield before 2023 was out.
Kaoru Mitoma and Simon Adingra were ruled out for almost all of January 2024 before this meeting with ankle and hamstring issues respectively, meaning the Seagulls had no senior wingers remaining.
Ansu Fati and Solly March had been ruled out with long-term injuries before this, while it is understood Julio Enciso recently suffered a setback in his recovery from a torn meniscus and may not return until February.
This left fans speculating about whether under-21s prospects Benicio Baker-Boaitey and Cameron Peupion may be blooded against Spurs, but that proved not to be the case.
Instead, De Zerbi added some *spice* to his usual set-up.
Gone was the 4-2-3-1 to which he is usually wedded, and in came a midfield diamond that saw James Milner offer the most width on the left and the strikers split to allow Facundo Buonanotte to thrive in the number 10 role.
In these almost impossible circumstances, it was tactical genius by De Zerbi.
The changes meant Spurs full-backs Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie were penned in by two banks of pressure before the halfway line, while the visitors’ two-man midfield was cut adrift from a potentially lethal front four.
Of course, this was a hugely bold move that could have gone spectacularly wrong had the likes of Jack Hinshelwood, Milner, Pascal Gross and João Pedro not put in such excellent individual performances, but the Italian trusts his players implicitly.
The final result was a victory for the coaching De Zerbi’s team invests in every single player in the squad, and an embarrassing exploitation of Spurs’ limitations.
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Postecoglou’s high line strikes again
Speaking of nagging issues at Tottenham, it was painfully clear on the night that Ange Postecoglou’s ‘agents of chaos’-style football was not appropriate for the setting.
Brighton rarely seek out the long ball and that was surely a thought in Postecoglou’s mind when he told his defence to step up, but when Joao Pedro began to race away time after time in the second half, it was hard to defend the approach.
Emerson Royal was cooked by the end of the match and visibly furious with his teammates for forcing him to sweep up so often against his fellow Brazilian.
It wasted time and effort for the Lilywhites, who invited pressure on every occasion that they seemed capable of sustaining some control.
Heung-min Son and Richarlison were trying desperately to make up the deficit in the second half, for example, but whenever they would go close, the ball just swept back to the other end and Brighton would win a corner.
The worst thing, though, was that Spurs found no middle ground; on other occasions, they would drop too deep in defence, and they were brutally punished for it.
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Pervis Estupiñán IS BACK
Let us take a minute to appreciate the quality of Brighton’s third goal on the night.
Pervis Estupiñán has been sidelined for the best part of two months, and nobody would have thought his first impact upon returning would be to score a goal-of-the-season contender.
The Ecuadorian entered the fray in inconspicuous circumstances at half-time, and though there were a couple of rusty moments early on, it was soon as if he had never been away.
Fit as a fiddle and bursting with energy, Estupiñán was back to his usual self as he kept Brennan Johnson and then Bryan Gil quiet, while his quality told with a decisive third goal for the Seagulls.
Yes, it was sloppy from Johnson and Dejan Kulusevski to allow Estupiñán the room to take three touches without any pressure from 25 yards out, but the accuracy and power required to beat Guglielmo Vicario from that distance was almost superhuman.
It was a bolt of brilliance that got better with every repetition, and nobody could begrudge Brighton the win nor Estupiñán his memorable return considering that strike.
The celebration was even better; a statement straight down the camera that he was indeed ‘BACK’ and that he meant business.
Welcome back, Pervis. How the Premier League has missed you.
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Spurs still lack a true number nine
Given how the goal of the night came from a left-back’s pot-shot from distance, it rather put into perspective how Spurs’ strikers should have converted their earlier chances.
Richarlison was offside twice when he converted in the second half, while Son hit the post twice in a display just missing marginal quality.
It seems unfair to call out either after an excellent December in which the duo have scored seven goals, but perhaps Postecoglou is one addition away from having a truly unstoppable attack.
Behind the pair, Kulusevski can blow hot and cold and is seemingly yet to nail down any specific role, while Brennan Johnson is more realistically a long-term option to replace the Spurs captain.
When James Maddison is fit, things work far smoother for the North London side, but a striker of superior physical dimensions and technical assets to Richarlison could have been the difference at The Amex.
It is games like these that have seen Spurs fall from contention in multiple competitions in recent years, and when they had a world-class striker before, they lacked the pieces to go around him.
Now that the tables have turned, Postecoglou has a big decision to make.
Trust Richarlison and develop him into a less error-prone forward, or bank on his growing capital at the club and press the club’s leaders – Daniel Levy and co. – into making a splash that shakes up the Premier League.
That won’t be in the January transfer window, as the Australian has stated that ‘nothing magical’ would happen mid-season, but it is a development to keep tabs on in summer 2024 if the club truly wishes to compete.
