Harry Kane closed the gap to four goals on Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah in the race for the Premier League Golden Boot, but it wasn’t enough to help Tottenham to three points as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Brighton at the Amex Stadium on Tuesday night.
Pascal Groß’s penalty, just moments after going behind, salvaged a crucial point for the Seagulls, who eased their lingering concerns of the relegation zone.
Here are four talking points from a frustrating evening for Spurs.
Kane didn’t look fit again but remained as influential when it mattered
After suffering their first defeat of 2018, and in 14 matches, to Manchester City at Wembley on Saturday, Mauricio Pochettino will have wanted to see his side start quickly on the South Coast. The Tottenham boss picked a strong side despite clearly keeping an eye on the FA Cup semi-final clash with Manchester United; Dele Alli was left at home, but Christian Eriksen, Son Heung-Min, Lucas Moura and Kane all started. Chris Hughton, himself reeling from defeat at Crystal Palace last weekend, set his side up to stay compact and spring forward on the counter. It was the visitors’ job to open them up, but they simply couldn’t in the first half, which set the tone.
Mousa Dembele sat on the bench while Moussa Sissoko started alongside Victor Wanyama in midfield, resulting in a workmanlike, but far from imaginative Spurs engine room. Eriksen and Son couldn’t create the space to hurt Brighton at their heart, Lucas constantly cut inside despite possessing all the attributes to stretch the pitch and, most frustratingly of all, Kane again looked like he was severely lacking match sharpness. The England striker, intent on chasing down Salah, skied over the bar with his first effort after decent linkup play with Eriksen before hesitating after a loose ball from Anthony Knockaert played him in and slipping when taking the resulting freekick. It took just two minutes into the second half for him to make amends though, and Spurs took advantage of more poor ball retention from the hosts. Son’s typically dogged endeavour helped the ball to their talisman, who blasted home via a deflection for his 26th league goal of the season.
Brighton may have a fight on their hands to keep Pascal Groß in the summer
There have been many bright sparks for Brighton in their debut Premier League campaign, but none more so than German midfielder Pascal Groß. Signed from Ingolstadt, where he had an impressive chance creation and assist record in the Bundesliga, Groß has taken to English football like a duck to water, and he proved why again. The Seagulls’ first port of call was to defend, but they always looked to break out and press forward when they could, led by their new midfield star. A lovely reverse on the right-hand side helped create an early chance, and he got forward again moments later to fizz in a cross that escaped Jose Izquierdo’s outstretched leg by a matter of inches.
If anything was going to happen for the hosts, there was a sense it would come from Groß, with other influential figures Knockhaert and Izquierdo flittering in and out of proceedings. His midfield partner, Davy Pröpper, was serving the second game of a three-match ban, too, but he dealt with the pressure perfectly, and the crucial moment came just seconds after Kane opened the scoring, from the penalty spot. Serge Aurier bundled Izquierdo to the floor, and he dispatched with confidence, despite Hugo Lloris getting a hand to it. Groß now has six goals to his name this season, all coming at the Amex, and surely there will be some calls put in about his availability over the coming weeks.
Toby Alderweireld’s first league start since October goes without a hitch
It has been a frustrating season for everyone involved at Tottenham in relation to Toby Alderweireld. The Belgian defender has been hampered by injuries, but despite being fit for weeks, he has not featured in the Premier League since October. Pochettino has insisted it is nothing personal, but there is something strange going on, considering this particular towering central defender is regarded as the best in the league when fit and at his best. His contract situation continues to rumble on, with rumours of his wage demands being too high for Spurs’ strict and tight structure refusing to go away.
Manchester United are looming in the shadows, and the silence from him is deafening, just as it was with Kyle Walker last season. But he was a rather surprising inclusion from the start, and put in a typically solid performance, even going close to scoring in the second half.
Pochettino’s second half changes upped the tempo but it wasn’t enough
For all of Spurs’ quality on the pitch, it just wasn’t sticking, and the main reason these frustrating encounters have become a less regular occurrence is Pochettino. He spotted the issues with movement and changed things after the break, moving Eriksen to the right-hand side, Lucas across to the left and pulling Kane away from towering defenders Shane Duffy and Lewis Dunk, who had dominated him for much of the early exchanges. It worked straight away, but not quite enough.
The intensity levels were much more typical of Spurs after the break, but to their credit, Brighton rarely let their guard down and stayed compact enough to recover if they did. In truth, the result won’t change much for Spurs, they are still in a strong position to qualify for the Champions League next season. Brighton, too, can feel pleased and even closer to safety.
