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Alli caps Spurs fightback to sink Brighton
LONDON, Dec 26, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Dele Alli got Tottenham back on track as
the England midfielder capped a gritty escape act with the late winner in
Thursday’s 2-1 victory against Brighton.
Jose Mourinho’s side were in danger of a second successive Premier League
defeat when Adam Webster headed Brighton into a shock lead at the Tottenham
Hotspur Stadium.
But Harry Kane equalised after the interval and Alli finished off a
flowing Tottenham move in the closing stages to erase the bitter taste of
last weekend’s acrimonious London derby loss to Chelsea.
Avenging their defeat at Brighton in October, Tottenham, unbeaten in
Boxing Day fixtures since 2003, have won three of their last four league
games as they try to climb into the top four.
That Chelsea setback was completely overshadowed by the alleged racist
abuse of Blues defender Antonio Rudiger by Tottenham fans after his role in
Son Heung-min’s red card.
Amid widespread calls for stronger action to stamp out racism in football,
Tottenham fans appeared to behave better this time.
Initially, there were worrying signs for Mourinho on the field however as
Steven Alzate escaped Moussa Sissoko, making space for a low strike that
drifted just wide.
Since Mourinho’s first game in charge of Tottenham, no Premier League team
had conceded more goals than the 14 his side allowed across all competitions
heading into this round of matches.
Those defensive frailties were on display when Alzate lost his marker and
forced Paulo Gazzaniga into a sprawling save, while Aaron Mooy went close
from the edge of the area.
Kane has a knack of scoring on Boxing Day and the Tottenham striker
thought he had netted again when he fired home from Winks’ pass, but the goal
went to a VAR review and was ruled out by the narrowest of offside decisions.
– Clinical Kane –
Brighton made the most of that let-off to take the lead in the 37th
minute.
Pascal Gross swung over a free-kick and Webster rose above Toby
Alderweireld and Davinson Sanchez to plant a powerful header past Gazzaniga
for his third goal of the season.
Mourinho must have been furious that Tottenham wilted against such a
simple set-piece and his team’s record of one clean-sheet in his nine matches
suggests a defender could be high on his January shopping list.
Underlining the urgency to address that problem area, Brighton’s Bernardo
forced Gazzaniga to save from a corner moments later to the audible
frustration of the Tottenham crowd on a dank, wet day in north London.
Mourinho, standing rain-soaked on the touchline, revealed before the game
that his Christmas was ruined by the death of his family’s pet Yorkshire
Terrier.
But Kane put a smile back on his manager’s face in the 53rd minute when he
seized on a deflection off Lucas Moura after the Brazilian’s determined run.
Drilling a shot that Mat Ryan could only push back out, Kane gobbled up
the rebound with a clinical finish for his eighth goals in five Premier
League games on Boxing Day.
Kane’s 16th club goal this season was not immediately a catalyst for a
Tottenham surge and Gazzaniga had to be alert to keep out Gross’s fierce
free-kick.
But Mourinho made a significant switch when he sent on Christian Eriksen
for Harry Winks, who moments before was lucky to escape a red card for a foul
when he had already been booked.
Eriksen made an immediate impact in the 72nd minute when he floated a
delicate pass to Serge Aurier who flicked the ball into the path of Alli, who
guided a superb lofted finish over Ryan.
BSS/AFP/BZC/2050HRS