Tottenham’s win over Brighton has given them new hope in securing Champions League football for next season.
The victory at the Amex means they are now in seventh and only three points away from fourth-placed Arsenal. With ten games left of the season and a match against their rivals around the corner in West Ham, the Spurs manager, Antonio Conte said: “We’re trying to close in on the top of the league. It’s going to be difficult. But we are ready to fight. West Ham will be a crucial game.
Harry Kane scored his 12th Premier League goal after slotting it past Robert Sanchez in the 57th minute. “He struggled at the start of the season, but he’s enjoying his football now and scoring a lot of goals,” said Conte when asked about his striker’s recent form. “I have a world-class striker who can score in any game.”
Tottenham’s recent January signings, Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur were pivotal in their victory. Kulusevski’s shot in the 37th minute deflected in off his teammate, Cristian Romero for the first, whilst Bentancur assisted Kane for the second. “They’ve come in so quickly, and they complete us. We’ve lost (Oliver) Skipp, so we needed a player like Rodrigo (Bentancur) and Kulusevski is a fantastic prospect with a lot of talent.”
Brighton’s defeat means they’ve now lost six games in a row. “We can’t feel sorry for ourselves,” said their manager, Graham Potter. “The past few weeks have been tough and uncomfortable but that’s no excuse.
“We can’t beat ourselves up too much. That’s not going to help. We have to look at the bigger picture and that we’ve got 33 points already.
“If there was an easy answer to our troubles, then we need to create more. A lot of the time it’s coming down to that final pass or shot that we need to make sure of,” said Potter. In those past six losses, Potter’s side have only scored once. A consolation goal in a defeat away to Newcastle.
Brighton are currently 13th and have a good chance to turn things around in their next match against Norwich, who are bottom of the league. Leading up to that fixture, Potter added, “This recent pain and suffering needs to be used for us to bounce back and that’s what we’ll do against Norwich.”
