Antonio Conte admits Brighton deserved to win the match against Tottenham Hotspur

Antonio Conte has expressed that Brighton deserved to win the match against Tottenham Hotspur after his side dropped a horror performance on the day. The Premier League fixture was hosted at N17, but his team failed to take the home advantage and cement their authority in the top four race.

Brighton and Hove Albion were the better side throughout the game as they restricted the hosts to just half-chances in the match. At the same time, the visitors had a fair share of opportunities, although they were not clear cut as well. However, they were persistent throughout the fixture and finally broke the deadlock through a late winner from Leandro Trossard.

Speaking after the 1-0 defeat (h/t The Express), Conte has admitted that Graham Potter’s side deserved to win the league fixture. However, he did add that a draw would have been fairer despite the game being difficult for them but conveyed the result reflected how the match played out on the day.

“A difficult game, a difficult game. We knew this and I had seen the game against Arsenal and knew what could happen today from a tactical aspect. It was a very tactical game, from one side to the other side. I think at the end a draw was the more fair final result, but at the end, it was Brighton who won the game and they deserve it. They deserve to win, it was a difficult game for us.”

Players did not turn up!

It was a lethargic performance on the day as there was a feeling that the team was simply on their level from the get-go. There was a lack of intensity, and the players all underperformed together on the day. The only standout performer was Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, as others, especially the front three, were largely non-existent in the match.

Cristian Romero was defensively solid like usual, but he was often frustrating when he was on the ball. While Rodrigo Bentancur tried to progress the ball every single time, it was one too often every time he received the possession. Emerson Royal had a forgettable game in the attacking department as usual, although, to be fair to him, he was not found by his teammates when runs were made.

It was a “tactical game”, as the Spurs boss mentioned, as the Seagulls controlled the match to the tempo that they wanted. We failed to conjure any threatening counter-attacks like usual, indicating how poor we were on the day.

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This defeat has seen us lose momentum, especially when it comes to the race for the Champions League spots. We are still in fourth at this moment with 57 points from 32 matches, but we have given the mantle to Arsenal following the loss.

The Gunners are just three points behind us while having two matches in hand. That being said, we can still put ourselves in contention considering how the North London derby is to be played. Let’s hope that the team can take in this defeat and use that to push themselves moving forward.