Tottenham defeated Brighton 2-1 at home thanks to a thrilling goal from substitute Brennan Johnson in the 96th minute, catapulting them into the top four.
Heung-Min Son, a fellow substitute who had made his first Spurs appearance of 2024 after returning from the Asian Cup, set up Johnson for a last-gasp goal.
Brighton had gained a well-earned lead in the 17th minute thanks to a penalty kick scored by Pascal Gross after Micky van de Ven fouled Danny Welbeck inside the box.
Spurs’ persistent pressure paid off, though, when Pape Sarr struck an equaliser in the 61st minute to secure Tottenham’s 36th straight Premier League victory—the joint-second longest scoring streak by a team in the competition’s history.
Ansu Fati, a replacement, headed wide in the 76th minute to give Brighton, who were without manager Roberto De Zerbi while the Italian recovered from “invasive dental surgery,” a chance to take back the lead.
But with seconds remaining Tottenham struck through Johnson to move a point above Aston Villa into fourth, with Unai Emery’s side hosting Manchester United on Sunday.
Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou said :
“Scoring in the last minute you have those mixed feelings of joy and relief. First half, we lacked things but second half was better, we put them under more pressure and played cleaner football and ultimately got the rewards.
“The positive thing is that we had players being able to come on that could make an impact for us, which does make a difference particularly when games are tight if you can bring on some quality and both of those contributions were key.
“Big [to have Son back] because he’s our leader and he’s a world-class player. Before he went away he was the top striker in the league in terms of his goal involvements and his influence so it’s great to get him back.”
Brighton assistant coach Andrea Maldera said:
“In the first half he [De Zerbi] watched the game. At half-time I spoke with him and he told me something, and in the second half when there were a lot of substitutions he was on the phone to our assistants on the bench. The substitutions were his idea.
“He watched the game from Italy. The communication is sometimes not easy because when you speak to the bench or the phone the football is going on. It’s tough for the players as well because for them it’s not easy.
“Roberto is our leader. It’s okay if he can stay on the bench if he’s suspended but not to stay with us all week is not easy. The players worked it very well and I’m disappointed for them because today they fight a lot. They wanted the result for Roberto but this is football.
“We are disappointed with the result because they deserve to draw, maybe win, but not lose the game.”
Spurs hosts Wolves next on Saturday while Brighton travel to Sheffield on Sunday
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