Joao Pedro bags a brace, Pervis Estupiñan scores one of the best goals of the season as Spurs get thumped 4-2 by Brighton – Tottenham stays out of Top 4
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Tottenham stay out of Top 4: Another day, another bad outing for the London Whites. The post-Christmas games have been nothing short of thrillers, with Rasmus Højlund getting his first goal for United, Brentford getting smashed 4-1 at home by Wolves, and Tottenham’s neighbors Arsenal losing 2-0 to West Ham and ransoming their top spot away.
However, let us turn our attention towards Spurs who started off the Premier League season brilliantly – being the only side to have beaten Liverpool in the Premier League so far but their form has fallen off since.
Injuries, suspensions, and lack of reinforcements can be blamed for the current state of affairs. The game against Brighton may very well support their case. With that said, let us take a dive into the match report.
Tottenham stay out of Top 4: Brighton 4-2 Tottenham Hotspur
It was a game of shrewdness and efficiency as Tottenham clearly had the upper hand and dictated much of the play with 54% overall possession. With a total of 19 shots registered and only 3 being on target, it just shows that Spurs really miss Harry Kane being around.
In contrast, Brighton had taken 11 shots with a staggering 9 on target. It was a busy evening for Vicario who had to make 5 saves and had a goal prevention of 0.68 as opposed to -0.18 of Brighton’s Jason Steele. The hosts had a terrifically high xG of 3.60 and the Spurs with 2.48, which isn’t bad at all.
Both teams had a relatively close passing accuracy with Spurs at 85% and Brighton with 83%. The Seagulls capitalized on every opportunity as they created 7 big chances with three of them leading to goals. Spurs could only create 2 big chances – which indicates that despite Spurs being more in control of the play, they simply weren’t efficient in the other half of the pitch.
It took the hosts just 10 minutes to open the scoring with a rocket launched into the net from Jack Hinshelwood. Moments later, Danny Welbeck went down in the box and VAR had awarded a penalty, it was tucked home safely by Joao Pedro. Pervis Estupiñan made it 3-0 after 20 minutes into the second half with a knuckling rocket outside the box – a goal worth replaying over and over again.
Joao Pedro put the nail in the coffin with another penalty making it 4-0. In the dying minutes, Alejo Véliz could only get a consolation goal for Spurs. Minutes later Ben Davies got his as well to make it 4-2.
Busy Transfer Window for Spurs
Spurs came into the game without a first-team Center Back as both, Christian Romero and Micky Van de Ven have been sidelined due to injuries. Postecoglou had to play Emerson Royal and Ben Davies at the heart of the defense, both of whom are fullbacks – and when you let 4 goals in and allow 9 shots at goal, it says a lot about that duo.
This points to one thing alone and that is, Spurs are in immediate need of reinforcements. Speaking to the Media about the team’s lethargic output in the game, the Aussie had the following to say:
“It is fair to say we looked like a tired team today,” Postecoglou told Match of the Day.
“We’ve asked a lot of these players for a very long time and we lacked a little bit of energy today. They are a good team and we struggled to cope with them.
“We hung in there and that’s all you can ask for, they left everything out there.”
‘We are Brighton!’
The Seagulls had another brilliant evening catching yet another top team by surprise. Their mettlesome performance earned them praise from their gaffer who says about them:
“I am really lucky to be this coach of this team with these players. I am very pleased with the passion they have, they have everything,” added De Zerbi.
“You can’t forget we are Brighton. Sometimes they forget we are Brighton. We are not Manchester United, Manchester City, Newcastle or Arsenal, we are still Brighton.”
Pervis Estupiñan’s Banger
The more you see it, the more you’re seduced by the intricacies and dynamics of the Ecuadorian’s strike. A knuckleball straight into the top bins serves as a good contender for the Goal of the Season.
Despite Alejandro Garnacho’s goal against Everton has everyone convinced of it being the undisputed Goal of the Season, Pervis Estupiñan’s goal surely deserves to be up there and shown some love. And to score it on your return from injury is something even a poet wouldn’t have imagined.
