Tottenham Hotspur had to settle for a point against Brighton as the two sides played out an entertaining 2-2 draw in North London.
Roberto De Zerbi’s side will remain in the relegation zone for at least another week, although the gap between themselves and West Ham United could increase to four if they win against Crystal Palace tomorrow.
Kaoru Mitoma restored parity for the visitors right before halftime after Pedro Porro gave Tottenham the lead.
In the second half, the home side looked the better of the two teams and went ahead with a stunning Xavi Simons strike, before Georginio Rutter capitalised on Kevin Danso’s late error for Brighton’s second equaliser of the game.
And speaking after the game, Fabian Hurzeler singled out Simons for special praise after his fantastic display.
Xavi Simons shows his class
Starting in attack alongside Randal Kolo Muani and Dominic Solanke, the Dutch international was Tottenham’s best player on the night.
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He provided a fantastic assist for Porro’s opener and should have scored one himself moments later. However, his effort deflected off the post as Brighton cleared their lines and went on to score at the other end.
In the second half, Simons grabbed the game by the scruff of its neck and scored a worldie from outside the box as the Tottenham players celebrated passionately.
Their joy was cut short after Rutter’s late goal, but Hurzeler feels Brighton simply couldn’t get to grips with the former Leipzig frontman.
“We had the big chance and we didn’t score,” said the Brighton boss via Sky Sports.
“They scored with a brilliant moment. We weren’t always able to defend Xavi [Simons], we didn’t always perform at the highest level, but we showed real character.
“Our subs made a huge difference when they came into the game; they had a big impact and that’s positive.
“We are sticking together as a group. Today wasn’t our best game, but we take the point; we are still on a good run.”
Simons’ stats for Tottenham vs Brighton
Simons produced one of his best-ever displays for Tottenham and showed his class when the chips were down.
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His stats from the game make for interesting reading.
- 23/27 passes completed (85%)
- 51 touches
- 2/4 successful dribbles
- Total carrying distance 96.3 m
- 4 shots (1 on target)
- 1 goal
- 1 assist
- 1 big chance created
The North London side have just five Premier League games to save their Premier League status.
And it goes without saying that Simons’ creativity and energy will be key to their hopes of avoiding the drop, especially with James Maddison still not fit enough to start despite being on the bench vs Brighton.
