Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
PREMIER LEAGUE HEAD BOY BALE TOP OF THE CLASS
Spurs up to second as Gareth rocks Brighton
THEY waited wai seven long years for Gareth Bale to produce another an dramatic late winne winner.
It should have been a hero’s home homecoming to send TTO To t tt e n h a m’s n e w st stadium into ra raptures, as one of th the true great players ofo of the l ast decade prod produced another magical moment. mo
Instead, it was left to one executive box b in the stadium to celebrate celeb and make surely the loudest noise any empty ground has h heard since Project Restart.
Bale – a 70thm minute substitute f for Erik Lamela – sc scored with a priceless h header to give Spurs their first home win in the P Premier League this term and send them up to sec second in the table. What Wh a crazy season when the team in second secon only gets their first f irst home victor y i n November. Nove The game was dominat ed by VAR decisions, Harry Kane scored yet again and, thankfully, Bale’s goal did not need a video check.
Bale, who left Spurs for Real Madrid in 2013 for a recordbreaking £85million, won two La Ligas, f our Champions League trophies, and is the most successful British export of all time.
He has returned to Spurs lacking match fitness, looking a pale shadow of his former self. However, the prospect of a fully-fit Bale alongside Kane and Heung-min Son will leave Jo s e Mour i n h o b e l i e v i n g second place is no fluke.
But we did have to overcome a crazy match, in which all the talk will be about VAR, and the joy that it is slapping out of the game. It felt like every decision went to a video referee based at Stockley Park. It has become a joke.
The first one came after just 12 minutes. Brighton tried to clear the ball from their penalty box, Kane cleverly drew a foul from Adam Lallana, who was jumping for the ball.
There was no doubt it was a foul, but referee Graham Scott gave a free-kick, as it looked outside the area. But VAR Jon Moss ruled Kane’s leg was on the li n e of th e box and therefore it was a penalty. Up stepped Kane to convert it.
Then, after 23 minutes, you felt VAR would rule in the S e a g u l l s’ fav our as Matt Doherty pulled back Leandro
Trossard, as he tried to get on the end of a cross. Incredibly, VAR did not give a penalty.
To Brighton’s amazement, Scott just gave a goal-kick. Brighton boss Graham Potter put his head in his hands, the visiting players – led by Pascal Gross – were still arguing at half time, they felt so aggrieved.
Sure enough, the next key moment also involved VAR. Pierre-emile Hojbjerg was trying to bring the ball out, Solly March made a sliding tackle which looked a foul. But then, March got up, got the ball to Gross, and his lay-off set up Tariq Lamptey to fire home the equaliser.
The ref even checked his pitchside monitor this time and let it stand. It was at least some reward for Lamptey, who had another great game.
Spurs looked out of luck as Lamela hit the post, Kane mi ssed from a yard , and Brighton keeper Robert Sanchez pulled off a super save to stop a Joel Veltman own goal.
Finally, the home win arrived a f t e r 7 3 mi n u t e s . S e rg i o Reguilon’s cross found Bale at the near post and his flicked header squeezed inside Sanchez’s near post.