Ange’s poor Spurs dud who won 8 duels was the real villain vs Brighton – opinion

This star was the driving force for Ange Postecoglou’s downfall on the south coast, despite having won eight bouts.

Tottenham Hotspur’s little comeback came to an end last night on the south coast as Ange Postecoglou’s injured team lost 4-2 in the Premier League to Brighton & Hove Albion’s relentless assault.

This season, Spurs have been mainly successful, but the medical room has become the center of their issues as important players have left like flies to prevent the team from mounting a serious championship challenge.

Even though Tottenham is still very close to finishing in the top four at this stage in the season and will use the next transfer window to bolster their roster, Postecoglou will be unhappy by the lackluster play from a number of their players.

Numbers from Dejan Kulusevski’s game against Brighton

For the most part of the 2023–24 season, Dejan Kulusevski has been excellent, tallying five goals and dishing out two assists in the English Premier League. However, on a moment when inspiration and leadership were needed, he played a deceptive game at the AMEX Stadium.

According to Sofascore, the Swede used 59 touches and made 87% of his passes throughout the game, but he was unable to execute with the dexterity and accuracy that have been key components of his success as a player this year. He also made mistakes on all five of his attempted crosses and failed on both dribbles.

In addition to winning only two of his eight fought duels and taking just one off-target shot during the game, the 23-year-old also made one critical pass but was unable to establish himself in a pivotal midfield struggle. He also committed the foul that resulted in Joao Pedro’s first penalty as he casually tugged on Danny Welbeck’s shirt.

Alasdair Gold of football.london, who gave him a 5/10 match rating, was very critical of him, saying: “Gave Brighton a penalty by grabbing Welbeck’s shirt in the box and earned himself the fifth yellow card of the season, meaning he misses the match against Bournemouth.” In the course of setting up Veliz’s goal play, the Swede took Dunk’s studs all the way to his ankle.

Nonetheless, he was animated and made an effort to create momentum, even setting up Richarlison’s offside goal and applying pressure in the closing moments to bring the valiant but ultimately futile comeback to life.

Brighton vs. Emerson Royal performance

Praise should be given to Postecoglou for his inventiveness and imagination in carrying out his plan as he sees fit, ignoring the clamorous disapproval of bystanders and insisting that the cogs would continue to turn consistently, as they have in the past.

Although this is true in many ways, Emerson Royal’s loss to Brighton served as ultimate proof that he should never again be used as a center-half.

With Eric Dier and rookie Alfie Dorrington both sitting on the sidelines and Cristian Romero out for five weeks due to an injury sustained in November, one has to wonder if this stubborn strategy of starting natural right-back Emerson alongside natural left-back Ben Davies in the middle of the backline will pay off.

Sességnon, Emerson Spurs, Premier League

So far, no, and after failing to contain the hosts’ threat—specifically, Joao Pedro’s—against the Seagulls, the Brazilian was left feeling a little hot under the collar.

Even though Emerson finished 92% of his passes and won eight of his 16 duels, he was twice dribbled past and lacked the composure and poise that a center-back should have for a team as ambitious as Tottenham.

Despite acknowledging that he is playing bravely in an unfamiliar position, Gold awarded him a 4/10 rating, stating that he “looked like a full-back trying to play at center-back, which to be fair to him is exactly what he is.” This time, it simply didn’t work as he battled Porro to deal with Pedro.

It didn’t work, and even if Spurs’ favored defensive axis is now stranded on the fringe, Postecoglou will have learned from the loss to Brighton that he may need to find a different approach.