Tottenham break unwanted Premier League record with shocking collapse at Brighton as Postecoglou calls it ‘worst loss’
TOTTENHAM broke an unwanted record after throwing away a two-goal lead to lose to Brighton in the Premier League.
Spurs led 2-0 at the break at the Amex and looked to be coasting to three simple points.
Brennan Johnson and James Maddison had struck, with Ange Postecoglou‘s side seemingly in cruise control.
But it all went horribly wrong in the second half as Fabian Hurzeler‘s Seagulls turned the game on its head in a staggering 18-minute comeback, with strikes by Yankuba Minteh, Georginio Rutter and Danny Welbeck.
And it was an all-too familiar heartbreak for the North Londoners.
That’s because Spurs became the first Premier League team in history to lose 10 games after leading by at least two goals.
Fans were left in shock with that stat as they stormed social media.
One fan tweeted: “‘It’s the history of Tottenham‘.”
Another commented: “Spurs fans will never learn, they’ll go on a decent run, shout that they have the best players in every position, only for them to do what they’ve always done.”
A third wrote: “It’s the Tottenham way.”
Boss Postecoglou called the loss the “worst defeat” of his 15-month reign.
The raging Aussie said after full-time: “That’s disappointing. I’m frustrated and absolutely gutted with that. It’s the worst defeat since I’ve been here.
Spurs ratings vs Brighton: Johnson silences doubters but it's a horror show at the back in second-half
TOTTENHAM fell to defeat at the Amex Stadium in dramatic fashion.
Spurs were leading 2-0, and appeared to be cruising at half-time, thanks to goals from in-form Brennan Johnson and James Maddison.
But they collapsed after the break to somehow lose it 3-2 at the Amex.
Here’s how SunSport’s Isabelle Barker rated Spurs’ stars.
GUGLIELMO VICARIO – 6
Was cool, calm and collected in the first-half but lost his composure in the second-half but wasn’t exactly helped by his shambolic defenders who conceded way too many chances.
Expertly saved a shot from Mitoma to keep the visitors in it.
PEDRO PORRO – 6
Porro produced a lovely cross to set up Werner even though he was offside.
Struggled to keep Mitoma in check after the break and will probably be seeing the Japanese winger in his nightmares tonight.
MICKY VAN DE VEN – 5
The second-half was a bad night in the office for Micky van de Ven who, alongside Udogie, was torn apart by Brighton’s blistering front line.
You rarely see the Dutchman flustered but he really lost his composure at the Amex.
CRISTIAN ROMERO – 5
Romero went missing defensively in the second-half, let Brighton players past him and was the culprit of far too many mistakes.
DESTINY UDOGIE – 5
Udogie was the culprit of a major cock-up at the back to put the ball on a plate for Yankuba Minteh to pull one back for the hosts.
Djed Spence has done well off the bench in recent weeks so a shake-up may be on the cards.
DEJAN KULUSEVSKI – 6
Kulusevski has looked different gravy since moving to a more central role, and that showed in the first-half.
After the break he began to look clunky, ploughing into Kaoru Mitoma with a rash challenge.
RODRIGO BENTANCUR – 6
Bentancur needed to wake up as he gave the ball away in dangerous positions.
JAMES MADDISON – 7
Maddison was on target for the second with a lovely, low drive but faded out in the second-half and struggled to pick out a pass.
TIMO WERNER – 6
Werner messed up the final ball, scuppering a big chance for Spurs to go ahead just 15 seconds in.
Nearly redeemed himself with what looked like the opener but Porro was offside in the build up. Played a key role in the second goal, squaring the ball to Maddison.
The German striker needs to be on target himself though with a woeful zero goals in his last 13 games.
BRENNAN JOHNSON – 8
Johnson looking as dangerous as ever for Tottenham, with his goal making it six scored in his last six games.
He recently deleted social media after coming under heavy criticism, but since then he has certainly silenced his doubters in style.
DOMINIC SOLANKE – 6
Solanke produced a peach of a pass to set up Johnson for the opener.
Didn’t have a shot on goal though and was non-existent in the second-half.
“It was an unacceptable second half. Nowhere near where we should be. We got carried away with how we were going.
“We kind of accepted our fate and it is hard to understand as we’ve not done that while I’ve been here. We paid the price.
“The problem is we are travelling along too smoothly, football and life will trip you up if you get too far ahead of yourself.”
Tottenham are now ninth in the Premier League table after their Brighton collapse.
Postecoglou’s side have won three and lost the exact same amount in their first seven Prem matches.
Brighton, on the other hand, are sixth after winning their third match in the top flight.