Tottenham Hotspur ended up with another disappointing result, as they drew 2-2 against Brighton & Hove Albion at home on Saturday.
The result meant that the north London side will stay in the Premier League relegation zone for another week at least. They will hope that West Ham and Nottingham Forest drop points against Crystal Palace and Burnley, respectively. While the Hammers are a point above Spurs, Forest are two points clear of the drop.
On Saturday, Tottenham started brightly, and Pedro Porro (39’) scored the opening goal for them. However, Kaoru Mitoma equalized in first-half stoppage time. Spurs restored their lead with a brilliant strike from Xavi Simons in the 77th minute. However, a mistake from Kevin Danso allowed Brighton an equalizer via Georginio Rutter in stoppage time.
It was a heartbreaking draw for Roberto De Zerbi’s side, who showed a lot of promise for a change. They will now have to take some positives from this game and continue to improve for their remaining five games. They will, however, also need to take some learnings into their next fixtures.
What we learned from Tottenham’s draw against Brighton
- Tottenham players need to calm themselves
One of the best performers for Tottenham against Brighton was Rodrigo Bentancur. The Uruguayan midfielder returned to action on Saturday for the first time after undergoing hamstring surgery in January. He made some crucial interceptions, but most importantly, he was calm in possession.
Most other Spurs players, however, were not. Even when they got into good positions, they panicked and often either made the wrong choices or took bad touches.
Even at 2-2, the hosts got a glorious chance to score the winner. However, in their panic, they chose the wrong option, leading to a tame Archie Gray shot.
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If they are going to earn some rare wins, Tottenham players must teach themselves not to panic.
- Xavi Simons must start every game
While he messed up two incredible chances, Simons was at the heart of everything Tottenham did in attack. He drove the team forward and combined well with Dominic Solanke and Bentancur. He provided an excellent assist for Porro’s goal and scored an exceptional goal himself.
Simons is the only creative player available for Spurs at the moment, with James Maddison barely fit. They have to play him in every game. He won’t be perfect and will have some off games, but he is the only player on the team who can unlock a defense.
- There is still hope for Tottenham
The result was a terrible one for Spurs, especially in the way they threw away a win in the closing stages. It would be a hammer blow for the players, who are already struggling with confidence issues. Moreover, Nottingham and West Ham could potentially increase their lead over the north London side this weekend.
However, there were a few positives to take from Tottenham’s performance, which hasn’t been the case all year. They have found a working midfield pair of Bentancur and Yves Bissouma, with Simons shining and Solanke improving. If they can maintain or improve on this level, they can certainly get a few wins.
They face Wolves, Leeds United, and Aston Villa in their next three games. They are all winnable, considering Villa will have a Europa League semi-final to contend with either side of the Spurs fixture.
Before the Brighton clash, a draw would have made one believe that relegation is certain. However, the performance suggests that there might be some life left in Spurs.
