Brighton and Hove Albion have proven a bit of a bogey team for Tottenham Hotspur in recent years.
The Seagulls did the double over Spurs in the Premier League last season, coming from behind to beat the capital outfit at the Amex before tearing a half-cut north London side a new one on the final day of the 2024-25 campaign.
So as Fabian Hurzeler’s side raced into a two-goal lead through Yankuba Minteh and Yasin Ayari, Tottenham must have been fearing the worst. Richarlison halved the deficit shortly before the break, but even so; Tottenham are a team that has routinely lacked the fortitude to dig in deep and claim a result when the odds are stacked against them.
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However, this version of Tottenham is different. Thomas Frank has instilled the mental toughness for the squad to pick themselves back up when needs must. Saturday was no different. The AMEX isn’t the easiest ground to visit, Brighton having already beaten Manchester City in front of their own fans this season, so to ultimately claim a result on the south coast is impressive.
Frank named a much-changed XI for Saturday’s 2-2 draw, with Wilson Odobert and Destiny Udogie coming into the side. An all-changed left flank presented some teething problems but Tottenham looked to stretch the play with the inclusion of the pair, Odobert favouring to cut inside from the flank and Udogie looking to overlap. It’s a far cry from Frank’s starting left side the previous two games, with summer signing Xavi Simons and Djed Spence both dropped to the bench.
It’s time to move Simons from the left
The left side with Simons and Spence has looked a little square-peg-in-a-round-hole-esque given the pair’s preference to use their respective right foot. It’s also meant that supporters were yet to see Simons in his favoured central role prior to his second half introduction on Saturday. The Dutchman joined shortly before deadline day after the club missed out on Eberechi Eze to rivals Arsenal.
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Simons, though, drew plenty of plaudits for his impact in the number 10 role at Brighton. When asked on the former RB Leipzig man’s cameo, Frank said: “Yeah, I’m very, very pleased with that. I think Xavi came in and did exactly what we thought he could do in that 10 position. Of course, he had a good pre-season and he played two games in Germany and all that, but he’s still coming into a team and all that.
“And I think on any other day, he’d score a goal. He got a great finish on the first one, great save from Verbruggen. And the other one, he mistimes. And I think maybe he could have got an assist to Richy, where Lucas takes the ball, he doesn’t see him.”
Stats back up decision to use in the no.10 role
While Simons was unable to directly contribute to a Tottenham goal, Jan Paul van Hecke’s own goal enough to ensure the spoils were shared on Saturday, the creator gave a real glimpse into his quality when used centrally. Indeed, only Richarlison (5) had more shots than Simons (3) of Tottenham players on Saturday, one of which forced a smart stop from Bart Verbruggen shortly after his introduction.
The Netherlands international may have managed to create just one chance and complete one take on, yet he was finding space between the lines, and giving Spurs more presence in the final third. By starting a midfield trio of Rodrigo Bentancur, Joao Palhinha and Lucas Bergvall, the latter tasked with carrying out the number 10 duties, there was gap between the Tottenham midfield and attack that meant the north London side created as many chances in the opening hour (5) as they did the final half hour after Simons came on.
Instinctively, Brighton sat a little deeper to try and counter the attacking threat, which allowed Tottenham up the ante as the clock ticked towards the 90. In the additional space with which to work, Simons managed to return a 100% final third pass completion rate as he completed all six attempted passes in Brighton’s defensive third, with Micky van de Ven the only other player to manage a 100% accuracy. For context, Brennan Johnson, who was introduced 10 minutes after Simons, managed just one.
Upcoming fixtures beneficial for Tottenham and Simons
Fingers crossed for Tottenham fans it’s a sign of things to come. Frank’s side have a set of incredibly winnable fixtures looming, starting with the midweek Carabao Cup meeting with Doncaster before Saturday’s welcome of winless Wolves, and against opponents that are likely to sit deeper; having a player like Simons to pry apart resolute low blocks is key.
With Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison missing for the foreseeable future, Frank needs a creative spark pulling the strings behind the striker to benefit the wingers and the frontman, be it Richarlison, Dominic Solanke or new signing Randal Kolo Muani. The cameo against Brighton is certainly a sign of things to come.