TOTTENHAM TOOK ADVANTAGE of Liverpool and Arsenal dropping points to move into fourth place in the Premier League with a 2-0 win over Brighton and Hove Albion.
Serge Aurier’s miscued cross and Son Heung-min’s late effort proved enough to lift Mauricio Pochettino’s men back above Burnley.
Though Spurs were far from the five-star best they had shown against Stoke City at the weekend, Liverpool and Arsenal’s goalless draws against West Brom and West Ham respectively leave the result with a brighter look.
Erik Lamela’s return to the Spurs XI for the first time in over a year ruined by hip injuries was a further boost for the home fans at Wembley.
Tomer Hemed had Brighton’s clearest chance after 70 minutes, but his effort on the turn failed to stretch Hugo Lloris, who spent most of the contest as a spectator.
Brighton have collected just two points from their last six league games and are beginning to look over their shoulder, with just a three-point cushion over the relegation zone.
Making his first start in almost 14 months, Lamela was charged with replacing the creativity of Dele Alli, but the Argentine blazed over as finding a way through the well-drilled Brighton defence proved difficult, with Harry Kane barely given a sniff.
Lloris went untested until Shane Duffy forced him into a comfortable save after 35 minutes with a towering header from Anthony Knockaert’s corner.
It was a fleeting attacking moment for the visitors and Spurs finally found a way through five minutes before the break, albeit with a huge slice of fortune.
Aurier – under a challenge from Jose Izquierdo – mishit a deep cross into the penalty area that caught Mat Ryan out, the ball looping over the goalkeeper to give the Ivorian his first Spurs goal.
Tottenham’s dominance continued after the restart and Kane was denied by Ryan, stretching out his left boot to deny the England international’s deflected shot.
With 20 minutes remaining the hosts’ frustrations were beginning to grow and Hemed almost snatched a point, but his snapshot was straight at Lloris, much to the relief of the Spurs captain.
Pochettino introduced Alli for Lamela after 74 minutes and he almost had an immediate impact, setting up Kane for a curling shot that Ryan got down well to save.
Kane’s personal duel with Ryan had one final chapter as the striker’s low free-kick was superbly pushed onto the upright, but the Australian could do nothing to stop Son’s front-post header that deflected off Davy Propper on its way in as Spurs finally earned the sheen their supremacy deserved.
Over at the London Stadium, Arsenal dropped points for a third Premier League game in a row as they were held to a 0-0 draw at West Ham in a wasteful showing.
Arsene Wenger’s men were the better side for most of the match and pushed the opposing defence to their limits at times, but in the end they were not clinical enough to take all three points — leaving them in seventh behind Burnley.
The Gunners did not fall into the trap which snared Chelsea at London Stadium on Saturday, avoiding an early concession and swiftly establishing themselves as the superior force. Chances were by no means a regular occurrence, though, with Alex Iwobi’s 27th-minute effort which hit the post the only clear-cut opportunity of the first half.
Arsenal became even more dominant after the break and they looked more threatening in attack as a result, but they remained wasteful, with Olivier Giroud and Jack Wilshere – who was otherwise lively – particularly culpable.
Javier Hernandez almost paid them pay for their profligacy when he struck the crossbar a minute from time, but Arsenal survived that scare to leave with a point.
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How have United pulled that off
@Mossy: pulled what off? He scores in every second game and was by far United’s highest goalscorer in the last two seasons.
@Paul Mallon: Never worth what we bought him for anyway in a million years, attitude, style of play etc. To get that amount for him is a coup. Just wished they replaced him.
@Paul Mallon: Remember you from last season constantly slagging him and united off, come up with something original besides boring trolling.
@Paul Mallon: Pogba was highest goalscorer last season mate
@Alan Brazil: well you have never seen me slag him off, I’ve always liked him, he’s a different type of player but he always got goals, Utd fans have been going on about how he doesn’t fit into our style of play!!! What utter tripe, if you have been watching Utd play the last 3-4 seasons, they don’t have a style of play, it’s been a higgledy- piggledy mish mash of players that have no idea what way they were supposed to be playing with zero continuity. Lukakus goals will definitely be missed. Especially as no replacement has been signed,,but the real problem for Utd is the manager,,Òle is nowhere close to being in the top 10 managers in the premier league,, and with Spurs and Arsenal doing as well, if not better in transfers for this season, top four is out of reach for another season. IMO
@Alan Brazil: pure waffle, IV never slagged him off. Seems United fans never want to be questioned on anything, fierce sensitive
@Paul Mallon: being United’s top scorer the past two seasons doesn’t mean much
@Paul Mallon: Ipswich fan actually.
@Paul Mallon: He went 8 months without a goal at old Trafford in 2019?He is a good player but to get 70 million for a player deemed surplus is brilliant
United have not replaced him and will live to regret it
@Sean Seanie O Shaughnessy: I’m confident the players still at the club will perform better within the system Ole wants to play, what is concerning though is the lack of a Plan B, all of the forwards currently at the club offer something very similar, which could lead to a lot of predictabilty in how United will set up.
Mid-table at best for utd..
@munsterman: Based on what fellow Munster man ?
@munsterman: ah in fairness twill be 6th at absolute worst
This guy has had a problem at every club he has been at . Going to serie A is a step down
@Shane Lad: Going to a Champions League club in one of Europe’s Top5 leagues is a step-up.
His style is only suited to a certain type of club , where other players on his team can set up scoring chances for him , with their hard work and getting ball in the box for him , an old type cf imo .
The guy was a disgrace the last two weeks, posting training data on team mates, training in Belgium without notifying his current club. That on top of publically admitting being over weight, complete lack of professionalism, good riddance.
For the first time in the last number of years United have come out the right side of a transfer deal financially….