Tottenham Hotspur endured a humiliating loss against Brighton at the weekend, which not only marked an end to their five-game winning streak but also the manner of defeat comes as a blow to the building hopes at Hotspur Way.

It was a game of two halves where the visitors controlled the first and got the wheels of the game in control as Spurs led with two goals from Brennan Johnson and Maddison going into halftime. However, the wheels soon started falling off after the halftime whistle when the Seagulls came all guns blazing as they scored three in a space of some twenty minutes to secure an unlikely win.

Murphy – Tottenham were better than Brighton despite defeat

While the defeat would stare in the Lilywhites faithful face with a sense of shame over the upcoming fortnight, Danny Murphy believes that Tottenham were a better team than their counterparts at the weekend. He insists that the manager could have fixed things at halftime by asking his winger, Brennan in particular, to stick to the flank and help on the defensive side of things. 

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He also went on to claim that the club doesn’t have leader figures on the pitch to estimate the conditions in-game.

Speaking on TalkSPORT, Murphy said:

“Tottenham are a better team than Brighton in most areas of the pitch. When they’re at it, they would beat Brighton 7 out of 10 times. In the first half, Spurs were playing high press, high intensity, with great quality. They could have been more than two goals up. In the second half, the problem was down the right-hand side. Brennan Johnson and Pedro Porro weren’t dealing well with Brighton’s left side, and that wasn’t addressed. It was very basic. The manager should have fixed it at half-time by telling Brennan Johnson to stick with the left-back, and that would have made things much easier for Porro. Tottenham will entertain all season, but I don’t think they’ll make the top four unless they fix these little problems, especially the lack of leaders on the pitch.”

While the defeat ended the five-game winning streak at White Hart Lane, the international break means that Ange Postecoglou and his staff will have an opportunity to get a bird’s-eye view on the situation and iron out the wrinkles.

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Do you think the Lilywhites were better than Brighton last weekend despite the defeat? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.