Here’s Nick Ames’s report from the Amex.
Leandro Trossard, the goalscorer, speaks.
It’s a great result, we were nearly there against Fulham. It’s a sweet win. We waited a long time, we were the better team and it feels great. We always try to finish off those moves and I am really happy that we could score. We needy to go on now. We could have made it 2-0 and we defended well. Tottenham is a great team and we knew they would come at us.
Mike in Devizes is not happy: “Jose’s face (82 mins) is not as much a picture of anger and despondency as mine, or most Spurs fans I know. Get this toxic dinosaur out of my club.”
Look at the table. Poor reading for Spurs, who have dropped from being top in mid-December to 11 off the lead. And Brighton may be fourth from bottom but have a decent gap on the bottom three.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man City | 20 | 24 | 44 |
| 2 | Man Utd | 21 | 10 | 41 |
| 3 | Liverpool | 21 | 19 | 40 |
| 4 | Leicester | 21 | 12 | 39 |
| 5 | West Ham | 21 | 4 | 35 |
| 6 | Tottenham Hotspur | 20 | 13 | 33 |
| 7 | Chelsea | 21 | 12 | 33 |
| 8 | Everton | 19 | 5 | 33 |
| 9 | Aston Villa | 19 | 13 | 32 |
| 10 | Arsenal | 21 | 6 | 31 |
| 11 | Southampton | 20 | 2 | 29 |
| 12 | Leeds | 20 | -1 | 29 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace | 21 | -11 | 26 |
| 14 | Wolverhampton | 21 | -9 | 23 |
| 15 | Newcastle | 21 | -13 | 22 |
| 16 | Burnley | 20 | -13 | 22 |
| 17 | Brighton | 21 | -6 | 21 |
| 18 | Fulham | 20 | -12 | 14 |
| 19 | West Brom | 21 | -33 | 12 |
| 20 | Sheff Utd | 21 | -22 | 8 |
Final score: Brighton 1-0 Tottenham
A first home win of the season brings huge celebrations. Spurs slope off and Mourinho’s expression is one of someone who has just swallowed some dog worming tablets. Tottenham were rubbish, Gareth Bale anonymous but Brighton deserved that. Trossard’s goal was excellent. And they rarely looked in much danger.
90+4 min: Spurs seeking a hail Mary, a miracle. Burn again does his job by heading away. And that’s it. All over.
90+3 min: Burn heads away and then Alderweireld is fouled by Mac Allister to eat up more time. Sanchez finds Burn in the corner who holds it up there in the style of Martin Johnson. And they win a corner too.
90+2 min: Lamela and Son both have shots blocked. Brighton retreating all the way back in heavy numbers.
90+1 min: There will be four minutes added on.
90 min: Brighton kick for territory like a rugby team. Tottenham can’t get out.
89 min: Brighton take their time over the corner. Tottenham try to break but March is fouled and more time can be eaten up.
88 min: Son has to go back to try and win the ball back. Brighton holding the ball in the corner, and win a corner.
87 min: Alderweireld goes off with a blood injury after his heroics and comes back on. A free-kick for Lamela to bend in. Or shoot? He shoots straight into Sanchez. A sorry waste.
84 min: Oh my, Lamela almost plays in Moura then Brighton charge on, and should have scored. Gross gets through and centres the ball. Connolly has the goal gaping but somehow Alderweireld gets across. Was the Irishman too casual?
82 min: José is wearing the face of the Lowry Hotel’s most famous guest, and chunnering away to himself. If Tottenham do rescue something, they have been poor. And will have been very lucky.
Updated
81 min: The last ten minutes and a big push from Tottenham. Or a damp squib? A penalty claim as the ball comes off Ben White but it came off his chest and not arm.
79 min: Two Brighton subs. Off go Trossard and Maupay. On come Lallana and Connolly, a speedy forward and an old, calm head.
78 min: Trossard is down, and he took a knock after a foul took place after an offside decision. That’s one of the pitfalls of just playing on, as they do for...a reason that escapes me and most others.
77 min: Tottenham - at last - putting on some pressure and Brighton’s defence is edging further backwards.
75 min: Son, from deep, tries a shot. That’s too far to trouble Sanchez, who is called upon to make a far more difficult save from Vinicius. The ball was creeping in at the near post. Does the Spurs revival start here?
73 min: Rhys emails in: “Disappointing stupunditry I’m afraid. We are informed that Tottenham’s starting XI is the first not to include a single Englishman. There are three Welshmen though. Three Welshmen are not ersatz Englishmen are they ... any more than Lloris is. Being a Brit Twit isn’t a good look. Try to avoid it eh.”
You will have to point out where I said Welshmen were Englishmen. Did you miss the reference to Cliff Jones?
Updated
72 min: Brighton sub: off goes Veltman, on comes Dan Burn.
71 min: Ndombele is down again. And writhing. He got caught on the side of the foot by Maupay. Was it deliberate? Difficult to say.
70 min: Moura has heavy traffic ahead of him. And when Davies on the other flank tries a cross, Ben White stops the danger.
68 min: Mac Allister - again - has a shot blocked, and it dribbles to a grateful Lloris. There are claims for a handball. None given.
67 min: Brighton have been defending well, and that’s a clear invocation of the commentator’s/MBMer’s curse.
66 min: Bergwijn tries to make his way through but the ball gets stuck under his feet. Then Alderweireld is booked for a fairly cynical hack on Mac Allister. A reducer on the danger man that looked like.
65 min: Jose does not look happy and he can be heard urging Lucas Moura on in Portuguese.
64 min: Moura might add some more speed to Tottenham, and Brighton seem to have sat off already. That seems a dangerous strategy. Mac Allister remains dangerous though, and Alderweireld has to come across to stop him.
Updated
62 min: Off goes Bale. He looked well off it, let’s be honest. What next for him? The MLS? Retirement? The Open?
Updated
61 min: Another Spurs change is imminent, and it’s Lucas Moura to come on. And it’s going to be Bale, isn’t it?
59 min: We are informed that Tottenham’s starting XI is the first not to include a single Englishman. There are three Welshmen though - Bale, Rodon and Davies. Cliff Jones would be proud.
Updated
58 min: Tottenham playing better but Brighton still creating chances, and still probably the better team. Trossard gets the ball in for March and Alderweireld has to make a block.
56 min: Veltman’s header from Gross’s corner. Then White shoots from the edge of the six-yard box and Lloris is forced to make a low save. He might just have kept Tottenham in this one.
Updated
55 min: Ndombele has to chase back to stop Maupay getting in.
53 min: Bale chase down the ball but settles for a corner on the right-hand side. He takes it too. It was their first corner all night. Vinicius gets a header in, and Brighton keeper Sanchez makes a save, and with his legs. That’s by far the closest Tottenham have come.
Updated
52 min: Son, at last, has a shot. Webster gets in the way. Actual Tottenham pressure. A brief claim for a penalty but it came off Webster’s chest.
Updated
50 min: Ndombele seeing more of the ball. But he’s also turned it over too. José will not like that.
49 min: Brighton seem to want to push it in the same style as before, and more power to them for it.
48 min: Tottenham perhaps more vigorous so far in the few moments of this half. There will have been a Portuguese flea in their ears.
46 min: So Spurs have a striker. What difference does it make? Let’s see.
Looks like José Mourinho didn’t stay long in the Tottenham dressing room. TV pictures show him hanging around outside. There’s a half-time switch. On comes Vinicius, off goes Davinson Sanchez.
More on José from the readers. Justin: “To add to your earlier readers’ points about watching Seagulls mobbing Cockerels etc. Having watched the Peacocks of Leeds spreading their feathers with such flair earlier, I think we can all agree that the dodo will make a comeback before Mourinho’s brood take wing in similar style. Mark is right: Time for Spurs to give him the bird.”
Justin, the original one, says: “Just to clarify, I am a long-time Spurs fan. I am wearing a Tom Huddlestone-era shirt as I watch and type this. I am adjusting to this new “philosophy”.”
And George: This game is giving me flashbacks of the 3-0 defeat that was perhaps the final nail in the coffin for the Pochettino dynasty. Will the Amex be the signal for the downfall of another Tottenham manager?”
Half-time: Brighton 1-0 Tottenham
Brighton might be disappointed they didn’t get more than Trossard’s goal. They have been superior in all departments. Spurs have been very bad. Gareth Bale has been willing enough but anyone unfamiliar with him would have no idea he was once one of the best British players of the last 20 years.
45 min: Hjoberg tries to mount a one-man attack but runs out of room. Back goes the ball. Maupay plays Mac Allister for yet another shot. It goes wide.
44 min: Tottenham attempt some kind of push, perhaps anticipating what is coming in the dressing room. Brighton though remains organised.
43 min: Bale out on the left? He then moves infield to try and get on the end of a Hjoberg chip. He’s at least trying to force the issue.
41 min: A pass to Bale is cut out. Off go Brighton again. Spurs are hemmed in. They can only resort to keeping the ball as their opponents are looking so organised.
40 min: This is very bad from Spurs. They have offered nothing in attack. Bale ties something on the right, but Brighton hold firm. There seems to be a lack of belief within Spurs. Son has been a passenger.
Updated
38 min: Mac Allister shoots but can only win a corner. Dunk head it, and it looks to be going in. Once again it’s Bale back doing the defensive work.
36 min: Sissoko stops March, but did so by knocking him over. March takes the free-kick and Sissoko clears. At least he cleared up his own mess.
34 min: Tottenham having to do more defending. Brighton’s mobile forwards are linking well compared to, well, Tottenham’s immobile forwards. Trossard’s cross almost finds March on the back post. March can’t direct the ball back infield.
32 min: Tottenham fans are not happy. First, David. “Of course it’s obvious, as Mourinho says, that Kane is “irreplaceable”. But replacing him with a centre forward has to be worth a try.
Jason, perhaps not a Spurs fans: “I think Spurs vs. Brighton is the most Mourinho, considering the mascots. Seagulls are vicious poaching scavengers. They are not nice guys. Fighting cockerels are big, strong, developed without an obsessive view of the rules, and not always fun to watch. Mourinho’s approach is to convince fighting cockerels to play like seagulls.”
And Mark: “I don’t care we are in a final, I’ll start the whip round. Not only is he poison, it’s horrible to watch. Please, Levy. Sack him.”
30 min: Trossard sends Maupay away. Then Veltman’s cross is headed away. And what’s this? A Tottenham shot. Son - yes, remember him - charges up, Bale takes part in the move and Bergwijn wellies it wide.
28 min: Bale gets involved...by heading the ball away from a Brighton corner. At least he is showing willing but there is not much happening for him. Mourinho is pacing the sideline and looks even more disgruntled than normal.
26 min: Solly March, to use his full name, booms in a cross. Mac Allister is again involved and Ndombele heads away. He’s taken a knock after a previous clash with Mac Allister. He will be OK to continue.
24 min: Aldeweireld has the ball but nobody moving for him. Bale steps up to collect but nowhere to turn and it goes backwards again.
22 min: An actual Tottenham attack. Ndombele looks for passing options but has to go all the way back to Rodon. Mourinho was not impressed by that at all.
21 min: Another Gross corner comes out to Mac Allister and the Argentinian tries one. It goes wide but Hugo Lloris is being exposed by a defence that doesn’t seem comfortable within itself.
20 min: Gross takes a corner, and it’s headed away. Gross whips another ball in. March heads back across and Mac Allister tries an overhead volley. Spurs are hanging on here somewhat.
18 min: That was fine play by Brighton, slack by Tottenham. There goes the hanging on for a point. Brighton had not exactly been scintillating but they were at least trying to do something.
Goal! Brighton 1-0 Tottenham (Trossard, 17)
Gross whips in a free-kick, Mac Allister recycles it. Gross is sent down the flank by some clever play, and he crosses back for Trossard whose finish comes off Davies and in.
Updated
15 min: Lloris takes an age over a goal kick. They can’t be playing for a point already, can they?
14 min: Davies has to clear a crossed ball for Tottenham. Then a ball is aimed at March, and Sissoko climbs up to claim it.
12 min: Gareth Bale tackling back. He’s out to impress. However, Mac Allister, from deep , cuts in and tries a shot. It goes wide. Lloris can watch it sail past.
11 min: Spurs settle into some possession for the first time. Hjoberg dropping deep to take the ball off the defensive trio.
9 min: A tackle by Trossard levels Hojberg, and after he gets up with a grimace, the ball is taken short. Bale had been the target for a long ball. The ball goes dead but Bale tries a shot well after the whistle had gone. Getting in some much-needed practice?
7 min: Brighton look at it. They often look at it. They just don’t score enough goals when they’re at it.
5 min: Spurs look a tad disjointed. Aside from everything else, Kane provides such a pivot for them up front
3 min: Brighton hit the post. Mac Allister sets up Gross, who hits it with the outside of his boot. Tottenham’s defence was statuesque.
2 min: Ben White steps out from Brighton’s back three. Tottenham are playing one too. An early chance to link between Son and Bale comes to nothing as the Korea whacks the ball rather too hard.
1 min: The game is underway on a cold old night in Falmer after the players take the knee. How long will Gareth Bale last? That’s the big question here.
The teams are out on the South Coast, and the noise is ear-bleeding at the Amex.
Reports from today’s earlier games.
Michael Frankel has got in touch: “I would be interested to know how many defensive permutations there have been this season. José has tried everything and none of it works.”
It looks like some kind of three at the back with Sissoko playing as a wing-back.
A reminder of the teams’ places in the table. Neither are exactly where they want to be.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man City | 20 | 24 | 44 |
| 2 | Man Utd | 21 | 10 | 41 |
| 3 | Liverpool | 21 | 19 | 40 |
| 4 | Leicester | 21 | 12 | 39 |
| 5 | West Ham | 21 | 4 | 35 |
| 6 | Tottenham Hotspur | 19 | 14 | 33 |
| 7 | Chelsea | 21 | 12 | 33 |
| 8 | Everton | 19 | 5 | 33 |
| 9 | Aston Villa | 19 | 13 | 32 |
| 10 | Arsenal | 21 | 6 | 31 |
| 11 | Southampton | 20 | 2 | 29 |
| 12 | Leeds | 20 | -1 | 29 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace | 21 | -11 | 26 |
| 14 | Wolverhampton | 21 | -9 | 23 |
| 15 | Newcastle | 21 | -13 | 22 |
| 16 | Burnley | 20 | -13 | 22 |
| 17 | Brighton | 20 | -7 | 18 |
| 18 | Fulham | 20 | -12 | 14 |
| 19 | West Brom | 21 | -33 | 12 |
| 20 | Sheff Utd | 21 | -22 | 8 |
José on Brighton: “They are one team you look at the table and you think the table can be fake because they are much better than where they are. “
Graham Potter speaks.
We have to play well, we have to be smart, we have to be aggressive, we have to be lucky, all the things you need to win a Premier League game. Play well against a good opponent. It’s an opportunity for us, we are very posiitive. Apart from the 0-0 result, we were the better team against Fulham. We are playing against a top opponent.
Solly March speaks.
Of course we need a result, we know teams have won around us, that’s the pressure that’s on us at the moment so we need a home win and maybe today can be the day. Without Kane is a bonus for us but they’ve got quality. We need to be wary of that. We need to show what we can do, work on what we’ve been working on and I think we can get a result. We’ve played well and the chances haven’t been going in. It would be worse if we hadn’t played well. Hopefully today’s the day when we put them away and get the win, yeah.
Brief word from José Mourinho on his attacking lineup.
Harry individually is irreplaceable, but we have good attacking players and tonight we play with three of them and hopefully they can play well.
Mary Waltz on Bareth Gale. “This will be the test of whether Bale still has any magic left in his game. He has had time to get fit, he will not have to be Kane and Son’s caddy. José’s handing him the keys to the car.let’s see if he can still drive.”
Big news at Tottenham. To be fair, Poch Jnr did well to last so long after dad went. Click on the link to see perhaps why.
We have reached agreement with @WatfordFC for the transfer of Maurizio Pochettino.
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) January 31, 2021
Everyone at the Club wishes Maurizio all the best for the future.#THFC ⚪️ #COYS pic.twitter.com/tsMPuyOPTM
PA Media’s take on that team news. Aurier’s complete omission raises some questions. He went off at half-time against Liverpool.
Gareth Bale was handed only his second Premier League start since returning to Tottenham. The on-loan Real Madrid forward, who scored the winner against the Seagulls at the start of November, replaced the injured Harry Kane, who suffered an ankle problem in Thursday’s loss to champions Liverpool. Defenders Davinson Sanchez and Toby Alderweireld and midfielder Moussa Sissoko were also recalled by Spurs boss Jose Mourinho, with Serge Aurier not in the squad and Matt Doherty and Eric Dier dropping to the bench. Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris was selected for his 350th appearance for the north London club.
Brighton boss Graham Potter named an unchanged starting XI, while winger Jose Izquierdo, who has not played since April 2019, was a surprise inclusion on the bench.
David Hytner on José’s big problem.
The teams - Gareth Bale starts
Brighton: Sanchez, White, Dunk, Webster, Veltman, Gross, Bissouma, Mac Allister, March, Maupay, Trossard.
Subs: Connolly, Lallana, Moder, Alzate, Izquierdo, Tau, Zeqiri, Walton, Burn.
Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris, Rodon, Alderweireld, Sanchez, Sissoko, Hojbjerg, Ndombele, Davies, Bale, Bergwijn, Son.
Subs: Doherty, Winks, Lamela, Hart, Dier, Tanganga, Lucas Moura,
Vinicius, Devine.
Referee: Peter Bankes (Merseyside)
🙌 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠 𝗡𝗘𝗪𝗦…
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) January 31, 2021
Your Albion side to take on Spurs at the Amex.
📲 https://t.co/S3j1TIedJv#BHAFC 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/G4bTME59Ga
𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠 𝗡𝗘𝗪𝗦 ⚪️ Lloris (C), Sanchez, Alderweireld, Rodon, Davies, Hojbjerg, Sissoko, Ndombele, Bergwijn, Bale, Son@WilliamHill ⚪️ #COYS pic.twitter.com/fQDzF9i5b7
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) January 31, 2021
Preamble
If you caught Amazon’s All Or Nothing series on Tottenham, you will know José Mourinho’s reaction to Harry Kane getting injured. Now Kane has injured *both* ankles and his return date is not until the middle of February. So what happens now? Without Kane, Son Heung-min is not quite the same player as he’s asked to play a very different game than suits him. That midweek defeat to Liverpool looks a turning point in the season. What follows? There are two usual routes: José kicks back hard or he hits terminal velocity and the soap opera starts up. Sunday evening on the South Coast could be the first episode of the latter. Brighton have only lost once this year, and that was to Manchester City, a 1-0 loss from which they emerged with great credit. Goals are a problem still, as they might be for Tottenham. Graham Potter will undoubtedly have a plan for Spurs but how the visitors might look in their manager’s attempt to prosper without their main man must be difficult to work out. Does Jose Mourinho even know?
Kick off at 7.15pm UK time. Join me.
