Image Credit: Sporting Life
By Lee Clow 05 October 2019 | Premier League
Pressure surrounding Mauricio Pochettino was further deepened as Tottenham were thrashed 3-0 by Brighton at the Amex Stadium.
On his first ever Premier League start, Aaron Connolly scored twice as Brighton humiliated a Tottenham team who were still suffering from a 7-2 defeat against Bayern in midweek.
Tottenham went into the game looking for a positive response, but it wasn’t long until their problems came back to haunt them. Hugo Lloris, who was subject to a mistake last week and concede 7 during midweek, gifted Brighton a bizarre goal only 3 minutes in when he failed to catch a cross that was heading towards goal. The Spurs goalkeeper dropped the supposed easy cross allowing Maupay to tap home the opener. In the process of the mistake, the Spurs captain suffered a freak arm injury while landing on the ground. During the Brighton celebrations, Lloris remained down before the Spurs medic team rushed on to the pitch to attend the France international. After six minutes on the ground, Lloris had to be stretchered off forcing Pochettino into a change with Gazzaniga coming on. Much of the game that proceeded the early injury was slow with both teams failing to create any chances.
Halfway through the first half it was Brighton who started to take control of the game with the home side taking advantage of Tottenham’s low form and confidence. Brighton’s control and pressure eventually paid off as they took a 2-0 lead through Connolly’s first Premier League goal. The young man finished smartly after his initial flick from a cross was saved by substitute Gazzaniga. The goal was met by huge cheers by the Brighton fans who then began to chant “we want 7’ in relation to Tottenham’s huge defeat in midweek.
As the half went on, Brighton could have had three or four with Tottenham all over the place defensively.
During the second half, Mauricio Pochettino made some changes to try and get back into the game by bringing on Harry Winks and dropping Eric Dier into the defence to make a back three. These changes initially worked as it brought improvements to the Tottenham team especially in attack.
Despite the reenergised Spurs, Brighton killed off any hope of them launching a fightback as Connolly finished off a superb run to score his second and Brighton’s third. The 19-year-old Irish striker latched onto Lewis Dunk's long ball before cutting inside Toby Alderweireld and unleashing a powerful right-footed shot into the bottom corner past Gazzaniga. The goal was met by even bigger cheers from the home fans as it looked like Brighton had pulled off a huge shock in the Premier League.
Harry Kane had a huge chance to score for Spurs on 70 minutes, but the England man uncharacteristically fired over summing up Tottenham’s weak attack all game. Substitute Lucas Moura was denied twice by Brighton goalkeeper Matt Ryan as the Australian persevered his clean sheet. As the full-time whistle blew huge cheers filled the Amex Stadium as Brighton earned a huge three points over a top six side.
Brighton’s victory lifts them up to 13th in the table and earns them a first home win since March. For Tottenham, the defeat today increases the pressure on manager Mauricio Pochettino whose team have now lost 17 games in 2019, the most of any other Premier League team.
After the game, Mauricio Pochettino apologised to the Spurs fans for their sides poor start to the season. He said: "It is a tough moment, but we keep going. I feel sorry for the fans. We are living in a tough moment. We need to stick together, keep working hard and believing. We will support the players…I hope all the pressure comes on me and the players can be free. Now is the moment to be strong. We can't underestimate the situation. But in the times that are not so good, there is always some possibility to become stronger."
Brighton boss Graham Potter also spoke after the game: "I'm delighted for the players. Aaron Connolly has been knocking on the door and gives us an extra dimension. He's a young lad with a big future who took his goal really well."
What’s next?
With an international break coming up, both sides can spend some time preparing for their next fixture in two weeks’ time. Tottenham host Watford at home on Saturday 19th while Brighton face Aston Villa away on the same day.
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