Spurs showed a lot of heart for not only playing this game, but also winning it. Spurs overcame the tragic loss of the death of one of their coaches as they beat Brighton 1-0 to stay in the title race.
This game really showed the fortitude and strength these Tottenham players possess as they were dealt with some of the most tragic news any team can suffer: one of their own passed away. Only a few days ago, Spurs released the tragic news that one of the teams lead fitness coaches, Gian Piero Ventrone, passed away due to a battle with leukemia.
You don’t need me or anyone else to say that this terrible news must have been absolutely devastating for all involved with the Tottenham Hotspur club, but especially for those who have known Ventrone well.
Members of the Spurs coaching staff, such as Antonio Conte and his assistants, who came over when Conte was first appointed back in January of last season have known and worked with Ventrone going all the way back to the early 2010’s when Conte was in charge of Juventus.
Nonetheless, whether only working with Ventrone for a decade, a year, a month, or just a day, his tragic passing must have been hard on everyone involved. And that’s why I’m giving so much credit for Spurs resilient performance against Brighton.
After an emotional, minute long tribute to the Italian fitness guru, Tottenham got off to a great start as they scored 20 minutes into the game. Coming from a great cross from the resurgent Heung-Min Son, Harry Kane redirected the ball past an unsuspecting Robert Sanchez.
This goal really was a testament to the uncanny connection that Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son have had for the past 7-8 years. This duo will undoubtedly go down as one of best, if not the best, in the history of the Premier League. These guys are just insane with how well they read each other on the football pitch.
Unfortunately for the neutrals, the game was pretty much over by that point. Brighton had some pretty good chances in the second half, especially the one with Welbeck on the 77′, and they dominated the ball possession (59%-41%). Moreover, Brighton had more passes (694 vs. 489), more shots (14 vs. 8), and triple the number of corners (6 vs. 2).
Though, Son did score a beautiful, curing offside from outside the box too…but it was offside. So, this result was probably the justified one.
Spurs’ gameplan of sitting back and letting Brighton play with the ball worked well as the Brighton forwards just couldn’t break though the Spurs block. If there’s anything Antonio Conte should be known for, it’s that his teams will always be almost impossible to score against. And with teams like Brighton, who may be great on the ball but struggle to put it into the net, there was no way they were ever going to win this game.
Especially not when Spurs were fighting for the memory of Gian Piero Ventrone.
Nevertheless, I still don’t think that Spurs will be able to keep up in the title race, even though they are only 3 points behind City for 1st and 1 point behind Arsenal for 2nd. Even though Spurs shut Brighton down for most of the game, they still were able to get off enough chances that makes me think a better strike force would have punished Spurs for.
More specifically, a strike force like Erling Haaland for Manchester City and Gabriel Jesus for Arsenal.
Still, its good they got this win for Gian Piero Ventrone.
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