Brighton and Hove Albion 0-1 Tottenham: Kane the difference as Spurs bounce back

Harry Kane’s first-half header saw Tottenham end a difficult week with a 1-0 Premier League victory at Brighton and Hove Albion.

Spurs were rocked by the death of fitness coach Gian Piero Ventrone this week, and head coach Antonio Conte was visibly emotional during a touching pre-match tribute.

On the pitch, Conte’s team delivered – Kane’s excellent header proving the difference against Brighton in Roberto De Zerbi’s first home game at the helm.

Kane missed a chance to double Spurs’ lead around the hour mark, but despite showing plenty of promise, Brighton lacked the cutting edge to pull level as their seven-match unbeaten home run came to an end.

The visitors had the better of the opening exchanges – Son Heung-min testing Robert Sanchez with a free-kick before Matt Doherty sent a half-volley over.

Danny Welbeck drilled wide at the other end, but Spurs’ early pressure told in the 22nd minute. Having made an outstanding stop to deny Rodrigo Bentancur, Sanchez was beaten when Kane stooped to expertly head home from Son’s cross-shot.

12 – Harry Kane has scored 12 goals in his last 12 Premier League games, netting in each of his last four appearances – his joint-longest ever scoring streak in the competition. Opener. pic.twitter.com/Dywiqio8Vn

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 8, 2022

Brighton finally managed to wrest some control after the half-hour mark, with Lewis Dunk heading over and Solly March’s crisp effort arrowing a foot wide.

Despite having to withstand more Brighton pressure after the restart, Spurs might have had a second if not for Dunk brilliantly intercepting Kane’s pass to Son.

Brighton’s captain was turned easily by Kane a minute later, but Tottenham’s talisman failed to apply the finish.

A late offside flag then disallowed a wonderful Son finish, but Tottenham – despite Welbeck missing another decent chance – ultimately did not require a second.

What does it mean? Spurs back at it

Tottenham were far from at their best against Arsenal and were duly punished by their rivals a week ago, and they settled for a goalless draw against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League in midweek.

While it was by no means a free-flowing display on the south coast, Spurs got the job done this time around, securing a second successive top-flight away win at Brighton for the first time since a run of three between 1980 and 1982.

The victory keeps them third in the table, a point behind Arsenal and three short of leaders Manchester City, while the Seagulls sit sixth.

Kane keeps up fine form

If Erling Haaland was not quite so scarily proficient in front of goal, Kane’s tally of eight league goals from nine games would likely be gaining more attention.

As it is, the England captain’s scoring form is possibly going somewhat under the radar. He has now netted in four successive Premier League appearances – his joint-longest streak in the competition – while he has six goals in his last eight top-flight games against Brighton.

Conte has De Zerbi’s number

De Zerbi’s first match in charge of Brighton after replacing Graham Potter was last week’s full-throttle 3-3 draw at Anfield. However, denied the space that was afforded to them by Liverpool this time around, the Seagulls slipped to their second league defeat of the campaign.

This match saw the Premier League’s two Italian managers go head-to-head. The pair met four times in Serie A, when De Zerbi was at Sassuolo and Conte at Inter, and the latter has now won four of their five meetings, with the other one finishing as a draw.

Key Opta Facts:

– This was the fourth straight Premier League match between Brighton and Tottenham where at least one team failed to score and their second straight meeting where the away team on the day emerged victorious.

– Spurs boss Conte is now unbeaten in all seven of his Premier League matches against fellow Italian managers (W6 D1) and has seen his sides keep clean sheets in four of their last five such games.

– Conte is yet to lose any of his previous 53 Premier League games in which his sides have gone into half-time ahead (W49 D4), the most such games in the competition without defeat for a manager.

– Kane has scored 12 goals in his past 12 Premier League games and has now scored in each of his past four, his joint-longest ever scoring streak in the competition, and the seventh time he has done so.

– Brighton’s Alexis Mac Allister made 104 successful passes against Tottenham, surpassing his previous highest total in a single Premier League game by 44 (Mac Allister did so with an 89.7-per-cent success rate).

What’s next?

Spurs host Eintracht in the Champions League on Wednesday, in need of a win to boost their bid for a place in the last 16. Brighton face Brentford in their next league outing.