Brighton 3 Tottenham 2: Spurs capitulate and blow two-goal lead as ex-Arsenal star Welbeck scores extra special winner
AT half-time in this bonkers game, Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler looked to have been schooled completely by wise old Ange Postecoglou.
But the remarkably young Albion chief showed no respect whatsoever for his elder by masterminding a stunning second-half fightback.
The 27-year, 138-day gap between the pair was the fourth biggest in Premier League history between two competing permanent managers.
That gulf in experience seemed to show as Spurs dismantled Brighton’s high line to take a 2-0 lead into the break thanks to strikes from Brennan Johnson and James Maddison.
But Hurzeler’s men hit back with three goals in 18 minutes during the second period through Yankuba Minteh, Georginio Rutter and Danny Welbeck.
Postecoglou’s side, who had been coasting towards a sixth straight win, looked shellshocked.
And they only had themselves to blame thanks to their weak defending, with lax left-back Destiny Udogie at fault in all three Albion goals.
Their fans detest the term, but this was peak Spursy.
While it underlined the faith Brighton had in giving Hurzeler such an early shot.
Fans joked that this game would be played largely in the centre-circle due to the two managers’ penchant for a defensive high line.
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Spurs took just 16 seconds to capitalise on the space in behind as Timo Werner raced in but the luckless German overhit his cross to Johnson in the middle.
That was the beginning of Postecoglou side’s dominance in the first half, while the hosts lost Adam Webster to what looked like a hamstring injury inside seven minutes.
Werner’s first game in English football came here at the Amex in August 2020 after recently signing for Chelsea for a friendly in the early days of fans coming back to games post Covid.
Just 2,500 supporters watched him net that day four minutes into his unofficial debut.
Scoring goals pretty much ever since has been a tough ask for the man on loan from RB Leipzig, though he came close to breaking his season duck on 22 minutes here.
The 28-year-old headed a Pedro Porro cross goalwards and the ball seemed to go over the line via Maddison – but it was eventually chalked off for offside.
Spurs shook off the disappointment and moments later they were 1-0 up thanks to, who else, but Johnson.
The Welshman appears to be undergoing a one-man experiment exploring the benefits of coming off social media having ditched Instagram due to fan abuse after last month’s North London derby.
His productivity levels have gone through the roof ever since with this his sixth goal in as many games.
The finish he applied here underlined his sky-high confidence as he raced on to a Dominic Solanke through-ball and cleanly swept it past Bart Verbruggen with his weaker left foot.
Spurs’ brilliant pressing game, which has caused nigh-on every opponent a headache this term, was putting Brighton under constant pressure.
So it was no surprise that the move that led to the opener was sparked by Udogie and Maddison combining to rob Rutter of possession.
Fair to say fans had less faith in Werner’s finishing than Johnson’s but the ex-Blues forward was having Joel Veltman on toast with his pace down the left.
And it was from Werner’s cut-back, after more brilliant build-up play by the excellent Solanke, that Maddison’s lukewarm strike somehow went through Verbruggen for goal No2.
Brighton had the odd opportunity – a Welbeck flick here, a header from the ex-Man Utd man there – but lacked the guile of recent years.
The creative instincts of Pascal Gross, who said a proper goodbye to the crowd before kick-off following his summer move to Borussia Dortmund, were sorely missed.
Johnson could and maybe should have trebled the lead just before half-time when played through but he fired a bobbling ball narrowly over from an acute angle.
It did not seem like it would be at the time but it proved to be a costly miss.
The first step of the comeback came when Hurzeler hooked the green-looking Ferdi Kadioglu for Pervis Estupinan.
It was a smart switch but the reality was the turnaround was sparked by a moment of luck, when Udogie somehow failed to clear Kaoru Mitoma’s routine cross.
Udogie would have been better off leaving the ball completely but his careless intervention allowed Minteh to slam home at the far stick.
It woke the hosts up from their slump, with Mitoma suddenly looking dangerous.
The Japan star fired a warning shot which stung Guglielmo’s fingers.
Then, just before the hour, he received the ball from Kadioglu’s replacement Pervis Estupinan and played through Rutter.
The ex-Leeds man held off weak challenges from Udogie and Micky van de Ven and expertly found the far corner.
You would have thought those errors would liven up Udogie but the Italian somehow then let Rutter in behind him.
Rodrigo Bentancur was then guilty of foolishly trying to shepherd the ball out, allowing a sliding Rutter to loop up a cross for Welbeck to head home with glee.
Spurs looked cooked from there after their midweek European travails, leaving Postecoglou scratching his head and young buck Hurzeler holding his high.