Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte criticised for questionable tactics in 1-0 Brighton loss
Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte has been heavily criticised for his questionable tactics in the 1-0 defeat at the hands of Brighton. Arsenal legend Ian Wright expressed that viewpoint following the match as the English side failed to further impose themselves in the race to achieve Champions League qualification.
Tottenham were far from their best on the day as they looked off throughout the entirety of the Premier League fixture. Apart from a short phase in the first half, they failed to dominate Brighton and Hove Albion, which was a sharp contrast to their performances in previous games.
Speaking to Premier League Production (h/t Football.London), Wright has slammed Conte for his tactics on the day as the Gunners legend believes the questionable tactics resulted in their loss. The ex-forward added that the Spurs lineup that included Harry Kane struggled to break down the Seagulls’ defence on the night.
“I can’t understand the tactics today, they played like an away side. They weren’t passing through the lines, Harry Kane wasn’t coming short, they weren’t pressing Brighton high to win the ball in the last third, to win the ball in those high areas to then attack them and it was very confusing when you consider what they’ve done leading into this game. But Brighton showed that little bit of class in the end and they won the game.”
Was the loss Conte’s fault?
Blaming the entire issue on the Italian boss would be the laziest thing to do, as it was clear that the players were not at their best on the day. While he does deserve some criticism, he cannot be at fault for all the problems we faced against Graham Potter’s side.
Players like Kane, Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur, for example, were far from their best which is not the former Inter Milan coach’s fault. Questions can be raised against the man in charge for the lack of intensity and pressure from his side, which was in stark contrast to what we saw against Newcastle United and Aston Villa.
Fortunately, the loss did not deal much damage to our prospects in the top-four race at the league table. Mikel Arteta’s side failed to take advantage of our defeat as they lost 1-0 to Southampton in that same matchday.
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That now offers us a chance to reflect on the shortcoming we suffered in the previous matchday. The players and Conte himself must look at themselves for dropping one of our poorest performances under the coach’s tenure. After all, we failed to even register one shot on target, which is embarrassing, to say the least.
We are now set to face off against Brentford next in the league, who are on a three-match winning streak. That includes wins against Chelsea and West Ham United, indicating the challenge that awaits us moving forward. Let’s hope that we can overcome the setback that we suffered against the Seagulls to ensure CL qualification.
