Ange Postecoglou admits Tottenham fell behind during the 4-2 defeat to Brighton, but says VAR should have intervened to rule out Lewis Dunk after a tackle that could have put Dejan Kulushevski on the injured list.
Spurs arrived on the south coast looking for a fourth successive League One title to clinch fourth place ahead of reigning champions Manchester City. But the north London club were devastated as Joao Pedro’s double and Pervis Estupinan’s thunderbolt complemented Jack Hinshelwood’s opening goal.
Tottenham, who got a late consolation through substitute Ale Veliz and Ben Davies, could easily have lost several more as a rampant Albion hit the post twice and Facundo Buonanotte was sent off.
It was the first time under Postecoglou that Spurs were trailing 2-0 and more than a goal behind at half-time in a Premier League match. Brighton fired six shots on target in the first half, the most Spurs have had in a half of league football under a new manager.
Ange Postecoglou blames fatigue for the defeat:
“It’s fair to say that we looked like a tired team today, which is understandable,” Postecoglou said. “We have been asking a lot of these players for a very long time and today we ran out of energy.
“They are a good team and we found it difficult to cope with them. We persevered and that’s all you can ask for because they left everything on the pitch.
“I have no complaints about the penalties. They were clear and obvious.”
Spurs have conceded 19 goals in their last nine Premier League games. Since the beginning of November, they have the highest expected goals scored of any team in the division (21.4), while no team has scored more than their 19 goals.
Richarlison scored a goal and was sent off twice for a foul, while Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg also scored a goal.
Nevertheless, qualification for the Champions League seems to be a distant dream for Postecoglou’s team, who have won only one point out of 15 before their recent turnaround in form. The win lifted Robert De Zerbi’s hosts above Newcastle into eighth place.