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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Dan Kilpatrick

Tottenham player ratings vs Brighton: Vicario heroics in vain as Royal struggles in wretched defensive display

Tottenham went down to a chaotic 4-2 defeat at Brighton to put an abrupt end to their winning run.

A pair of Joao Pedro penalties either side of half-time were sandwiched between brilliant strikes by Jack Hinshelwood and Pervis Estupinan - the latter an absolute screamer - put the Seagulls in complete control.

But substitute Alejo Veliz scored his first Spurs goal to pull one back and Ben Davies headed home as Spurs threatened a remarkable late comeback at a nervy Amex.

Here's how we rated the Tottenham players...

Guglielmo Vicario 7

Well beaten for all four Brighton goals. Twice denied Welbeck with outstanding saves in the space of a minute and made a smart stop from Joao Pedro - but could not keep Spurs in it for long.

Pedro Porro 5

Bailed out by Vicario after his loose back pass fell to Joao Pedro. Sloppy defensively but did come close to a late third goal with a side-footed effort.

Emerson Royal 3

Really struggled with and without the ball. Loose in possession in the face of Brighton's press and passive defensively.

Ben Davies 5

Frustrated at his team-mates' sloppiness but was less assured than usual defensively without Cristian Romero next to him. Showed great desire to head home a late goal.

Destiny Udogie 6

Nearly scored and showed intent in the final third, but played his part in a wretched defensive display.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg 5

Struck the post which a good effort which would have made it 4-3 in stoppage-time. Before Spurs' stirring comeback, he frequently lost the ball in the face of Brighton's press.

Pape Sarr 6

Loose in possession occasionally but his energy was important, and Spurs initially got worse when he went off.

Dejan Kulusevski 6

His lazy shirt pull on Welbeck was rightly punished with Brighton's first spot kick. Made the Spurs consolation goal with his desire to press Lewis Dunk and set up one of Richarlison's offside goals with a cute pass.

Brennan Johnson 4

Squandered a couple of promising positions with hesitant touches. Fired a decent ball across the face of goal in the first half but otherwise he was forgettable.

Heung-min Son 5

Finished with an assist for an unselfish pass to Veliz but otherwise struggled to make a difference in the final third. Spurs could probably have done with him up front at the start of the second half rather than Richarlison, though.

Richarlison 6

Struck the post, twice scored from an offside position and fired just wide. On the one hand, he was by far the likeliest to get Spurs back in the game; on the other, he should really have scored.

Subs

Giovani Lo Celso (Richarlison 65') 6

Conceded Brighton's second penalty with a wretched foul on Evan Ferguson from behind but did makes Davies' goal with a deep cross.

Bryan Gil (Sarr 65') 5

Struggled to make any impact on the game and wasted a couple of good shooting positions, but played a small part in Spurs' second goal.

Alejo Veliz (Johnson 69') 7

Opened his Spurs account with a scuffed finish which should do his confidence the world of good and forced a save from Jason Steele.

Not used: Forster, Dier, Phillips, Alonso, Donley, Dorrington.

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