Thanks to Brennan Johnson’s 96th minute winner after the game had seemed destined for a first draw in 13 H2Hs between these clubs.
Guglielmo Vicario was chastised for his performance against Everton, but the Italian made a crucial save within the first 50 seconds to deny Danny Welbeck after the striker had dispossessed Micky van de Ven.
Pascal Groß and James Maddison had a heated exchange during the first quarter-hour. The first blow came from the Seagulls’ creator-in-chief, who pickpocketed Maddison on the edge of Spurs’ box before Welbeck again fooled Van de Ven to win a penalty, which Groß confidently converted.
Spurs and Maddison responded quickly as they attempted to get back into the game, with their number 10 threading a brilliant ball through for Richarlison, but he was denied by a strong save from Jason Steele.
Maddison then sent his own curling attempt agonizingly wide, but Brighton persisted, and a poor ball from Vicario to Rodrigo Bentancur resulted in a move that ended with the goalkeeper denying Kaoru Mitoma.
Pervis Estupiñán’s poor pass gave Richarlison possession, but he and Maddison were unable to capitalize on the opportunity.
Ange Postecoglou’s side had the better opportunities after the break, with Maddison’s tame free-kick saved by Steele and Timo Werner’s effort going narrowly wide.
Spurs kept the pressure on, and after a shot was blocked by Tariq Lamptey, Pape Matar Sarr equalized on the hour mark when his attempted cutback was turned onto the post by Lewis Dunk, and the midfielder reacted to mark his first start since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations with an important goal.
The Seagulls eventually regained control of the game and created opportunities, but Ansu Fati slid his shot agonizingly wide, and Van de Ven deflected Facundo Buonanotte’s strike off target.
However, they were hit in the final moments when Heung-min Son set up Brennan Johnson for a finish at the back post that gave Spurs their fifth consecutive home Premier League victory. Meanwhile, Brighton has lost all six away league games in a row.
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