Tottenham conceded a late equaliser against Brighton.
Tottenham had another difficult result at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last weekend as the Lilywhites were forced into a 2-2 draw with Brighton in Roberto De Zerbi’s first home game in charge. And this leaves Spurs in the relegation zone going into the last five games of the season.
Xavi Simons set up Pedro Porro’s opener in the first forty-five before Kaoru Mitoma equalised for the visitors with what was an excellent strike before the Dutch maestro fired Tottenham back in front from range with just over ten minutes remaining. But that wasn’t enough as Georginio Rutter left it late to break Tottenham hearts with an injury-time equaliser.
Joe Hart saw something in that Tottenham performance vs Brighton
Going back from N17, these dropped points sting the whole lot of Tottenham fans, but the manner of how Tottenham played, especially in that first half, left former goalkeeper and Match of the Day pundit Joe Hart arguing that what he saw on the pitch from Spurs was inspiring after putting in struggling performances all season.
While looking back at the footage on Match of the Day, Hart was clear that he saw the Lilywhites playing and operating differently this weekend than the one that has been drifting down and down into that relegation pit for the last weeks. He said (via BBC):
“He has identified what he doesn’t want to see, but what he wanted to see was to get that stadium rocking. The way that they pressed was really good, really impressive in fact. It is not the Spurs we have been used to; it is not the Spurs we have seen this season.
“He wanted to set the atmosphere: every single one of his players is running forward with intent, blocking passing lanes, and forcing Brighton to be perfect.
And the numbers from the first half show exactly what Hart saw as Tottenham generated 0.78 xG from seven shots with the 14 touches that they took in the Brighton box, which resulted in two big chances. Now let’s be honest, these are not very sparkling numbers, but when you put it in the context of how the Lilywhites have played all season, these aforementioned numbers show massive progress.
Author Opinion
That Rutter goal means points were shared, and that leaves Tottenham still in that drop battle for the first time since 2008. Tottenham are still without a win in 2026. And now with only five games of the season left, the dropped points vs Brighton will be quite costly.
Now De Zerbi will take his side to Molineux Stadium next Saturday in what will be a must-win game for Tottenham. But to add layers to that game, Tottenham have not won there since Nuno Espírito Santo was in charge at Hotspur back in 2021. But this performance vs Brighton will give this roster something to build on. But that is not enough. Tottenham need wins, thick and fast…