Brighton 3-2 Tottenham (Oct 6, 2024) Match analysis

Brighton staged a storming second-half comeback as Danny Welbeck secured a 3-2 home win over Tottenham Hotspur in a turbulent Premier League clash on Sunday.

Goals from Brennan Johnson and James Maddison gave the dominant Spurs side a fully deserved 2-0 lead at the break.

But the game was turned on its head after the break as Tottenham's defense collapsed under the pressure, conceding three goals in 18 minutes.

Three minutes after the restart, Yankuba Minteh equalized for the hosts before Georginio Rutter equalized from close range. Welbeck then headed Brighton's third goal after the visitors' defense faltered.

Brighton's first win in five league games took them to sixth place in the table with 12 points from seven games, ahead of Spurs, while Tottenham are in ninth place with 10.

Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images

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When Johnson scored his sixth goal in six games from a pass from Dominic Solanke to reward full control of Tottenham for 23 minutes, the visitors were brimming with confidence.

Johnson, the first Tottenham player since Harry Kane in 2019 to score in six consecutive games, could have added another goal before a stirring Spurs move ended with Maddison's shot sneaking past guilt-ridden Brighton keeper Bart Verbruggen .

Welbeck went close twice for Brighton before half-time, but the hosts were clearly outplayed by Ange Postecoglou's clever visitors.

“The first half was bitterly disappointing,” Welbeck told Sky Sport. “The performance we performed was embarrassing and not something we want to be a part of.”

Whatever Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler said at half-time, it was great fun because Brighton were a completely different beast with Pervis Estupiñán as a substitute.

Tottenham took a nap as they failed to keep out a cross as Destiny Udogie's terrible miss found Minteh, who parried away a touch before firing a shot past Guglielmo Vicario.

The goal shocked Tottenham and as the rain fell on the south coast they fell apart.

Ten minutes later, winger Kaoru Mitoma played a pass to Rutter and, with Tottenham's defenders failing to respond, he fired home Brighton's equaliser.

Brighton's winning goal summed up Tottenham's second-half performance. Rutter should never have been able to deliver a cross from the right, but he showed far more will than those who tried to stop him, and when the ball was played across the penalty area, Welbeck had the easiest task of putting it into the net to nod.

“It’s fair to say that the second half was unacceptable and we paid a price for it,” said Postecoglou, who looked taken aback after the final whistle. “We probably should have finished in the first half.

“What we did in the second half was unacceptable and we got what we deserved.”