Pervis Estupinan\u2019s screamer from distance and two penalties from Joao Pedro helped injury-struck Brighton hold off a similarly patched-up Tottenham at the AMEX Stadium on Thursday night.<\/strong><\/p>\n Jack Hinshelwood thumped the Seagulls in front before Joao Pedro converted from the penalty spot after Dejan Kulusevski pulled Danny Welbeck\u2019s shirt in the box.<\/p>\n Substitute Estupinan\u2019s third Premier League goal gave Brighton an insurmountable lead in the 63rd minute, with the visitors unable to make the most of their forays into the final third while struggling without a recognised centre-back in defence.<\/p>\n Giovani Lo Celso\u2019s foul on Evan Ferguson allowed Pedro to convert his second penalty, but there was enough time for Spurs to send some nerves shooting through the home fans as 20-year-old Alejo Veliz scored his first ever Premier League goal in the 81st minute.<\/p>\n Ben Davies headed in another from Pedro Porro\u2019s cross, but Brighton\u2019s lead proved too big and they held off the late surge from the Londoners to take all three points.<\/p>\n Both sides are in the midst of injury crises but an open game was almost guaranteed in the first ever managerial meeting between Roberto De Zerbi and Ange Postecoglou.<\/p>\n Spurs started well from kick-off but\u00a0Brighton\u00a0soon began peppering Guglielmo Vicario\u2019s goal, with the Italian needed to save Welbeck\u2019s curler before denying the striker again with a more eye-catching stop from eight yards out.<\/p>\n The depleted\u00a0Tottenham\u00a0defence was breached in the 11th minute by a second Premier League goal for Hinshelwood. Pedro drifted in-field and held off defenders well before finding the 18-year-old, who blasted his shot centrally but with too much power for Vicario to repel.<\/p>\n The hosts were gifted a chance to make it 2-0 seconds after hitting the woodwork. Jan Paul van Hecke\u2019s header struck the post and Welbeck was denied a clean effort at goal as Kulusevski grabbed a chunk of the former Arsenal forward\u2019s shirt. It was picked up on review and Joao Pedro confidently rolled in the penalty, Vicario diving in the opposite direction.<\/p>\n Spurs\u2019 bright start had been well and truly snuffed out on the south coast, falling two goals behind as Brighton pressed and hounded the visitors. Veteran James Milner nearly scored his first goal for the Seagulls but saw his pop from outside the area rebound off the post.<\/p>\n Ange Postecoglou\u2019s side threatened in behind but couldn\u2019t capitalise in the first 45 minutes, with Brennan Johnson losing momentum when through on goal before his shot was comfortably cleared. At the other end, Facundo Buonanotte thought he had netted a third Brighton goal with a well-taken half-volley, only for offside to be given after he connected with Welbeck\u2019s cross.<\/p>\n Pedro Porro had a rough first half and it nearly ended disastrously for the Spanish right-back as an errant pass backwards fell to Pedro\u2019s feet. However, having already scored and assisted, the Brazilian couldn\u2019t take advantage, his dink being palmed away by Vicario.<\/p>\n Richarlison did rattle the outside of the post from the edge of the area, but Tottenham\u2019s bid to make it four league wins on the trot was in tatters when the half-time whistle blew.<\/p>\n The second period began with Brighton winning three corners in a row before Son Heung-min nabbed possession and fed Richarlison. The Brazilian couldn\u2019t curl his shot round Lewis Dunk, it instead fizzing just past the post.<\/p>\n The Albion were noticeably sloppier shortly after the restart, helping Tottenham ramp up the pressure. Kulusevski prodded Destiny Udogie through and the left-back saw two efforts blocked by Van Hecke and Jason Steele.<\/p>\n An offside call meant Richarlison\u2019s well-taken finish was disallowed before Estupinan put the hosts in a truly dominant position just after the hour mark. The Ecuadorian collected Milner\u2019s short corner and powered an absolute howitzer that sailed into the top-right corner of Vicario\u2019s goal.<\/p>\n Spurs\u2019 evening got even worse when substitute Lo Celso brought down Ferguson, allowing Pedro the chance to dispatch his second penalty.<\/p>\n There were a few crumbs of comfort late on for Tottenham as young Veliz came off the bench to collect Son\u2019s cross and scramble in his first goal for the club since his summer transfer.<\/p>\n Brighton were certainly unnerved in the final throws of the game, allowing Tottenham to further reduce the deficit. Porro\u2019s cross from the right was met with indecision from Steele and Dunk and Davies capitalised by nodding in.<\/p>\n Pierre Emile-Hojberg so nearly made it 4-3 as his shot struck the post, but Brighton saw out the nine minutes of second-half stoppage time to reduce the gap between the two teams to six points.<\/p>\n Pedro scored twice from the spot \/ Julian Finney\/GettyImages<\/p>\n GK: Jason Steele \u2013 6\/10<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Rarely tested by Spurs\u2019 attackers and dealt with anything that came into the box.<\/p>\n RB: Jack Hinshelwood \u2013 8\/10\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 Found space early on to blast Brighton in front. Physical with Son which helped subdue the South Korean.<\/p>\n CB: Jan Paul van Hecke \u2013 7\/10<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Came close to scoring as his header hit the post. Generally competent throughout.<\/p>\n CB: Lewis Dunk \u2013 6\/10\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 Made the blunder which led to Son\u2019s goal and waited for Steele to claim a cross before Davies nodded in. Mainly fine otherwise.<\/p>\n LB: Igor \u2013 6\/10<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Added more defensive beef on the left before his half-time withdrawal.<\/p>\n CM: Pascal Gross \u2013 8\/10\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 Added his trademark coolness in possession to proceedings, also making five tackles.<\/p>\n CM: Billy Gilmour \u2013 7\/10<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Looked to shovel the ball out wide as quickly as possible when receiving possession.<\/p>\n CM: James Milner \u2013 7\/10<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Came close to netting with a shot that came back off the post. Industrious as ever.<\/p>\n AM: Facundo Buonanotte \u2013 6\/10\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 Produced a great finish but had it chalked off for offside.<\/p>\n ST: Danny Welbeck \u2013 8\/10<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Might have scored with two good openings early on before being dragged down for Pedro\u2019s penalty.<\/p>\n ST: Joao Pedro \u2013 9\/10<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Strong run off the left before picking out Hinshelwood. Grabbed the ball and rolled in his side\u2019s second from the spot before bagging another in the second half.<\/p>\n SUB: Pervis Estupinan (46\u2032 for Igor) \u2013 7\/10<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Brilliant strike from distance looked to have sealed a comfortable victory for the hosts, though Brighton eventually held on for victory.<\/p>\n SUB: Carlos Baleba (59\u2032 for Buonanotte) \u2013 5\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n SUB: Jakub Moder (69\u2032 for Milner) \u2013 5\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n SUB: Evan Ferguson (69\u2032 for Welbeck) \u2013 6\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n SUB: Adam Lallana (90\u2032 for Pedro) \u2013 N\/A<\/strong><\/p>\n Subs not used: Bart Verbruggen, Mahmoud Dahoud, Benicio Baker-Boaitey, Luca Barrington.<\/em><\/p>\n Roberto De Zerbi \u2013 8\/10<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Exploited Tottenham\u2019s chasm in defence by playing to Welbeck and Pedro\u2019s strengths. Still gave up plenty of chances but that is to be expected.<\/p>\n Veliz scored his first Spurs goal \/ Bryn Lennon\/GettyImages<\/p>\n GK: Guglielmo Vicario \u2013 7\/10<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 The only real defensive presence pulling his weight in the first half \u2013 he made four quality stops in the first 45 minutes.<\/p>\n RB: Pedro Porro \u2013 5\/10<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Had a bit of a nightmare first half, even playing in Brighton namesake Pedro with a loose back-pass. Assisted Davies\u2019 header but a bad night overall.<\/p>\n CB: Emerson Royal \u2013 5\/10<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Was errant positionally, sometimes chasing the ball in frustration and being caught out.<\/p>\n CB: Ben Davies \u2013 6\/10<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Always shows commitment but was exposed by Brighton\u2019s raking passes over the top. Excellent desire to head in Porro\u2019s cross.<\/p>\n LB: Destiny Udogie \u2013 6\/10<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Got sucked in too easily for the first goal. Quite standoffish in defence and lacked end product to accompany his threatening bursts.<\/p>\n CM: Pape Matar Sarr \u2013 5\/10<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Overpowered by Brighton\u2019s sharp passing and couldn\u2019t display any box-to-box threat.<\/p>\n CM: Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg \u2013 6\/10<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Battled out of swarms of Brighton players at times and was often around to mop up loose ball. Might have further reduced the deficit but struck the post.<\/p>\n RW: Brennan Johnson \u2013 5\/10<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Wasted a couple of chances when running in behind.<\/p>\n AM: Dejan Kulusevski \u2013 5\/10<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Tugged down Welbeck for the penalty and will miss the next game against Bournemouth. Showed flashes of creativity but not enough.<\/p>\n LW: Son Heung-min \u2013 6\/10<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Not overly involved in attack before setting up Veliz\u2019s consolation.<\/p>\n ST: Richarlison \u2013 5\/10<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Some nice centre-forward play saw Richarlison strike the outside of the post. However, he struggled to stay onside throughout.<\/p>\n SUB: Giovani Lo Celso (65\u2032 for Sarr) \u2013 6\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n SUB: Bryan Gil (65\u2032 for Richarlison) \u2013 5\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n SUB: Alejo Veliz (70\u2032 for Johnson) \u2013 7\/10<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Bagged his first Premier League goal with a bit of a scruffy finish that gave Spurs a sniff.<\/p>\n Subs not used: Fraser Forster, Eric Dier, Alfie Dorrington, Ashley Phillips, Yago Santiago, Jamie Donley.<\/em><\/p>\n Ange Postecoglou \u2013 5\/10<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Certainly hamstrung by injuries and won\u2019t be changing much tactically, but did little to counter Brighton\u2019s evident ploy to go long.<\/p>\n
\nHow the game unfolded<\/h3>\n
\nBrighton player ratings (4-3-1-2)<\/h2>\n
![\"Joao](\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/01hjs49nmpy4fmez61h0.jpg\" "\\"Joao")
<\/figure>\n
\nSubstitutes<\/h3>\n
\nManager<\/h3>\n
\nTottenham player ratings (4-2-3-1)<\/h2>\n
![\"Alejo](\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/01hjs6as01fab99hsr7h.jpg\" "\\"Alejo")
<\/figure>\n
\nSubstitutes<\/h3>\n
\nManager<\/h3>\n
\nPlayer of the match: Joao Pedro (Brighton)<\/h3>\n