Tottenham 2-1 Brighton: Player ratings as Kane winner beats Seagulls
FROM TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR STADIUM - Harry Kane's 23rd Premier League goal of the season helped Tottenham snatch a late victory over European qualification rivals Brighton in a chaotic clash on Saturday afternoon.
A rocket from Son Heung-min put Spurs ahead in the tenth minute before the unmarked Lewis Dunk equalised with a header.
Managers Cristian Stellini and Roberto De Zerbi were both sent off for a pitchside scuffle between the two sets of coaches, having already clashed before the whistle, while Danny Welbeck and Kaoru Mitoma had goals disallowed.
However, Kane arrived onto Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg's cut-back to fire in the winner and keep Spurs in the hunt for a top four spot.
An entertaining opening saw Eric Dier head away from danger under his own crossbar as Brighton moved the ball from side to side, mainly targeting the hosts' right though Pervis Estupinan and Mitoma.
It was Son who would break the deadlock early on, however. Spurs broke with pace and the South Korean forward got away from Joel Veltman on the edge of the box before arrowing a trademark strike from distance into the top corner.
It was Son's 100th goal in the Premier League, becoming the 34th player to reach that landmark.
Tottenham had started well and even looked to press high up the pitch - a modern feature of football used by many respected teams and managers around the world - but soon Brighton started to find holes in their defence and opportunities came.
Mitoma would have a wonderful finish chalked off for handball before Hugo Lloris was called into action for the first time midway through the first half, beating away Alexis Mac Allister's drive from distance.
He made an even better stop a few moments later, pushing Moises Caicedo's strike away from danger.
The equaliser deservedly came for Brighton, though Spurs contributed to their own downfall. 6'5 central defender Dunk was left completely free to run to the back post, where he met Solly March's corner to plant a header past Lloris.
Jason Steele made his first save early in the second half to deny Ivan Perisic's deflected strike before Brighton had another effort ruled out.
March played in Welbeck, who spun the sluggish Hojbjerg to fire in, but the ball was caught deflecting off Mac Allister's arm before it beat Lloris and trickled into the net.
There had been rumours of tension between coaches Stellini and De Zerbi before kick-off but things exploded dramatically just before the hour mark. Pushing and shoving ensued with stern words also exchanged, resulting in both managers being red carded.
With new coaches taking charge in the dugout, Brighton made hay again and may have got a penalty on another day when Hojbjerg caught Mitoma's foot.
It wasn't given, however, and Spurs took advantage of the game's stretched nature by grabbing their winning goal through Kane.
The hosts broke down the right with Hojbjerg, who clocked Kane in front of goal. The England captain's powerful shot clipped off Veltman and past Steele into the corner.
Tottenham player ratings (3-4-3)
GK: Hugo Lloris - 6/10 - Sharp stops to deny Mac Allister and Caicedo.
CB: Cristian Romero - 6/10 - Charged out of the back three to press Brighton's midfield with contrasting results.
CB: Eric Dier - 5/10 - Did make some booming defensive clearances but was also pretty errant positionally.
CB: Clement Lenglet - 6/10 - Dependable and didn't get exposed in any one-v-one situations.
RWB: Pedro Porro - 6/10 - Lots of attacking intent and managed to come out of his tangle with Mitoma without too many bruises.
CM: Oliver Skipp - 6/10 - Showed some much-needed drive on the ball.
CM: Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg - 5/10 - Had some real horror-show moments on the edge of his own box. Exuded nervous energy and was all over the place - not in a good way - yet ended up assisting Kane's winner.
LWB: Ivan Perisic - 6/10 - Lacked final product, ballooning the ball into the stands from good positions. Did get an assist for Son's goal.
RF: Dejan Kulusevski - 6/10 - Looked strong running with the ball when in stride. Faded before being subbed.
ST: Harry Kane - 7/10 - Was not at his influential best but arrived on the scene to put Spurs ahead late on.
LF: Son Heung-min - 7/10 - Shuffled past Veltman and curled a beauty into the far corner to bring up 100 Premier League goals.
Substitutes
Arnaut Danjuma (78' for Kulusevski) - 6/10 - On shortly before Spurs' second and helped see the win out.
Pape Matar Sarr (86' for Skipp) - N/A
Japhet Tanganga (90' for Perisic) - N/A
Manager
Cristian Stellini - 6/10 - Didn't appear to be overly involved in the staff's Royal Rumble but was still dismissed. Tried a few different things but Spurs had little control at any point.
Brighton player ratings (4-2-3-1)
GK: Jason Steele - 6/10 - Not called into action very often. Good stop to deny Perisic.
RB: Joel Veltman - 5/10 - Gave Son a little too much space to get a shot away early on. Otherwise dependable.
CB: Lewis Dunk - 7/10 - Climb highest unmarked to nod in Brighton's equaliser and handled Kane pretty well throughout the afternoon.
CB: Levi Colwill - 6/10 - Another solid outing for the Chelsea loanee.
LB: Pervis Estupinan - 6/10 - Had space and time early on. One of a number of players to struggle with the grass at the stadium.
CM: Pascal Gross - 6/10 - Kept things ticking over for Brighton with sharp passing triangles.
CM: Moises Caicedo - 7/10 - The most domineering player in midfield, mopping up loose balls and giving Hojbjerg nightmares. Just lost his cool at important moments.
RW: Solly March - 6/10 - Curled in the corner for Dunk to head in. Not many shooting opportunities.
AM: Alexis Mac Allister - 6/10 - Brought a good save from Lloris but faded a little bit as the game went on.
LW: Kaoru Mitoma - 6/10 - Had a goal disallowed for handball and a good penalty appeal waved away. Some close moments here and there but a disappointing afternoon.
ST: Danny Welbeck - 6/10 - Had a goal disallowed in the second half after it hit Mac Allister's arm. Industrious and involved in Brighton's build-up without end product.
Substitutes
Evan Ferguson (66' for Welbeck) - 5/10
Adam Webster (69' for Colwill) - 6/10
Julio Enciso (85' for Veltman) - N/A
Manager
Roberto De Zerbi - 3/10 - Was looking for a scrap with Stellini early on and eventually got sent off for his role in the pitchside scuffle. Brighton were competitive throughout and some bad referee decisions didn't help, but De Zerbi also needs to be a lot calmer.