Tottenham Hotspur manager, Ange Postecoglou has described his side’s second-half collapse against Brighton as “probably the worst defeat” since he arrived at the club.
Spurs let a 2-0 lead slip and fell to a 3-2 loss in a dramatic Premier League encounter, leaving Postecoglou frustrated with his team’s mentality and performance.
Tottenham appeared to be cruising toward their sixth consecutive victory in all competitions after goals from Brennan Johnson and James Maddison had them in control before halftime. However, the North London side faltered in the second half, allowing Brighton to mount a remarkable comeback with three unanswered goals, sealing a significant win for the Seagulls.
The Australian said, “It was disappointing, and I’m absolutely gutted with that. It’s an unacceptable second half – we were nowhere near where we should be. Maybe we got carried away with how we were going.”
Postecoglou’s frustration was clear as he criticized his team’s attitude, claiming they lacked the usual fight that has defined their play since he took charge.
“We kind of accepted our fate, and it’s hard to understand because we’ve not done that while I’ve been here. We usually fight for everything, and when you don’t, you pay the price” said Postecoglou after the match.
The defeat was a missed opportunity for Tottenham, who could have moved into sixth place with a win. Instead, they now sit in ninth, with three wins, one draw, and three losses from their opening seven matches of the Premier League season.
Postecoglou pointed to his side’s inability to maintain their level of play and suggested that complacency may have crept into the team following their recent success.
The coach said, “Maybe things were going too smoothly. Football and life will trip you up if you get too far ahead of yourself, and that’s what it looked like in the second half,” he added. “It’s a terrible loss for us, as bad as it gets, and there’s only one way to fix it, and that’s my responsibility.”
Tottenham’s lack of competitiveness in the second half was a major concern for the Australian manager.
“We lost all our duels, we weren’t competitive, and if you’re not competitive, irrespective of what you do tactically, it is not going to work,” Postecoglou stated.
James Maddison, who scored his second goal of the season in the match, shared in his manager’s disappointment.
The midfielder was omitted from England’s Nations League squad earlier in the week but delivered an excellent first-half performance. However, Maddison admitted the team failed to withstand Brighton’s second-half pressure.
“This feels like a couple of steps back,” Maddison reflected. “Brighton are a good side with good players, but when the first goal went in, we couldn’t stay strong and weather the storm. The best teams do that, but we definitely didn’t.”
Maddison noted Tottenham’s struggles to control the game after conceding. “We lost complete control of the game after the first goal went in. It felt like it was attack after attack, and we couldn’t deal with it.
“We were saying all the right things about not being complacent, but it doesn’t mean anything if you don’t go out and show it,” he added.
