After week from hell midfielder admits: We’re in crisis
FREDERICKS CAHILL West Ham Crystal Palace
NDIDI Leicester HENDERSON Sheffield Utd
JORGINHO Chelsea
JIMENEZ Wolves
LUIZ Arsenal
GREALISH Aston Villa KABASELE Watford
TRAORE Wolves
CONNOLLY Brighton FOLLOWING their Bayern Munich humiliation, the only excuse for Saturday’s limp Tottenham display was the horrific early injury suffered by captain Hugo Lloris. BRIGHTON TOTTENHAM we’ve been in but we have to be all together and push through it. The stuff about the squad, I know that’s not the case.
“It’s the first time that we’ve found ourselves in this position and we can’t back down.”
Pochettino seems like a man who so nearly climbed Everest without oxygen last season and cannot get himself up for the challenge of trying again. And so do his team. Lucas Moura was their best player after coming on only for the final 17 minutes, while Dele Alli remained on the bench.
Lowly Brighton worryingly gave the blueprint for all sides to inflict more misery on a Spurs side who are already out of the Carabao Cup and now 13 points off the league pace.
Neal Maupay scored Albion’s quickest Premier League goal after 150 seconds when Lloris inexplicably dropped the ball, suffering a dislocated elbow as he fell.
“We sensed their heads went down after the first goal – that’s why we kept pushing and putting pressure on them,” said Maupay.
“Losing Lloris and goal so early was hard for them and they looked worried. We knew they are having a tough time so we wanted to keep going at them. And it worked because they dropped a bit and we got the second goal.”
Fellow striker Aaron Connolly scored two past substitute keeper Paulo Gazzaniga as Potter’s game plan
NOWHERE TO HIDE: Kane had no luck the worked. Connolly and Maupay pulled apart the Spurs defence and Aaron Mooy revelled in the space left by the midfield. “We wanted to press their back four,” said Potter. “I started with Connolly to be positive and to ask questions of their backline.” Harry Winks, who came on at the break, said: “They have a new manager and are playing a new style of football. “They played well.” BRIGHTON (3-5-2): Ryan 7; Webster 7, Dunk 8, Burn 7; Montoya 7, Gross 8, Stephens 8 (Murray 90), Mooy 8, Alzate 7 (Bong 88); Connolly 9 (Bissouma 80), Maupay 8. Goals: Maupay 3, Connolly 32, 65.
TOTTENHAM (4-2-3-1): Lloris 4 (Gazzaniga 8, 6); Sissoko 5, Alderweireld 5, Vertonghen 5, Davies 5; Dier 4, Ndombele 4 (Winks 46, 6); Lamela 4, Eriksen 4, Son 6 (Moura 73); Kane 5.