Tottenham Terrible in Abject Defeat at Brighton in League

Tottenham Hotspur have not played very well in several months now.  Since defeating Arsenal as the first place team in the Premier League on December 6, Tottenham have lost more matches than they have won. Now with Harry Kane injured, we knew it was going to be tough but Tottenham Hotspur were completely abject in a loss that was never in doubt at Brighton.

Early Warning Signs for Tottenham

It only took three minutes before Brighton had struck the post, as Pascal Gross was open in the box and his outside the foot shot had left Hugo Lloris stone footed and beaten. Fortunately for Tottenham that shot went off the post, but it was certainly a harbinger of things to come for Spurs.

While it would be about 10 more minutes before Brighton really got back on the front foot, they certainly did and Spurs were lucky several times in both halves to not concede more than they did. Just at seemed Tottenham were getting on the ball, there was Joe Rodon playing a pass straight out of bounds giving the ball away.

Poor passing and play all day from Spurs

While Rodon was not alone in the poor passing and play – particularly in the first half. However,  that play right as Tottenham were getting Brighton pinned in typified the performance from Spurs, where they did more to beat themselves than Brighton really did to beat them. Tottenham rarely connected more than three or four passes together that were not sideways on the day.

Combine a lack of any real pressure on the ball defensively and Tottenham were destined to fail in the first half as Spurs failed at even the most basic things. Ben Davies was beaten twice on the goal as he failed to stay goal side of Pascal Gross who an on the give and go.

As Davies “ran” to get back into position he again could not beat the man to the spot as Leandro Trossard had an clear chance and took it. It simply was not good enough football and like the poor passing displayed across the pitch was a self inflicted wound where doing the little things would have prevented the goal.

Some Spurs are still giving it all.

Alternatively, you look at what Toby Alderweireld did in the second half and the block he had on Aaron Connolly and you see how players doing the little things can save a team. However, given the lack of any real attack from Tottenham on the day, it only took the one mistake to cost Spurs all three points.

At this point, it is hard to say who Tottenham is and look a team that have a lot more questions than answers with Harry Kane out for the near future. With big games across three competitions coming in the three weeks, if Tottenham cannot figure things out quickly, all of the hope and possibility for the season may be lost.