Tottenham Hotspur got back to winning ways with a 2-1 win over Brighton and Hove Albion today, coming from behind to snatch a late victory and move back into the top four.
Here are five things we learned from today’s win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium:
Late goals are good, actually
All the talk surrounding Spurs over the last week has been around the side’s perceived tendency to concede late goals, sparked by the injury time equaliser Everton bagged last weekend. Ange Postecoglou has reiterated his stance on that, insisting his team will always attack and try to put the game to bed by scoring more goals.
With Brennan Johnson‘s dramatic winner today, Postecoglou must feel pretty vindicated in his beliefs and approach to the game. If Tottenham didn’t keep going today, they would have ultimately got one point instead of three.
Brennan Johnson haters should be quiet now
Speaking of Johnson, the young winger has come in for a fair bit of criticism in recent weeks from sections of the Spurs fanbase. It’s been a lot of nitpicking around his final ball and decision making, but he is truly silencing those critics now.
After his goal against Brentford at the end of last month, and the winner here today, Johnson now has three goals and four assists (Transfermarkt). Not bad at all for a 22-year-old in his first season at a new club.
Sonny is back with a bang
It was brilliant to see Heung-min Son back on the field today after more than a month away at the Asian Cup. The Spurs skipper came on with about half an hour to go, and saw plenty of the ball out on the left without really doing anything meaningful.
However, as we have seen time and time again, Son is capable of producing when it matters most, and he played in a perfect ball for Johnson to fire home the winner.
Spurs really missed Sarr
Since he came back from the African Cup of Nations, Pape Sarr has gradually been integrated back into Postecoglou’s starting lineup, but today he showed just how important he is to this team. The young midfielder was instrumental in turning defence into attack, and was rewarded for his hard work with the goal that brought Spurs back into the game. And, what a finish, too.
Back in the top four
That win takes Spurs back into the top four, at least until Aston Villa play Manchester United tomorrow. The Lilywhites are now just two points behind Arsenal in third, and we are still clinging on to that title challenge.
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