Martin Keown shares ‘incredible’ Tottenham verdict after victory over Brighton
Tottenham were right to stick to their principles as they scored a late winner to secure an “incredible” win over Brighton, according to Arsenal legend Martin Keown.
Despite not being at their best for large majorities of the match, Spurs were able to get the three points against Brighton as Brennan Johnson came off the bench to net a 96th-minute winner in a 2-1 victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday 10 February.
Although they were up against it at times, Postecoglou’s men continued to play their football and were rewarded in the end, with Keown full of praise for the Tottenham manager and his players.
While speaking on BBC Match of the Day (10 February), the former Arsenal defender said, “The goal, this was a thing of beauty, this was why they stuck to their principles despite losing the ball.
“It pays off, that belief, it was an incredible win for them and really great to see. Postecoglou, this is an Arsenal player sitting here saying it, is transformational.
“The manager has come in, said express yourself and play, I don’t care if you make a mistake, keep going and that was a real example of why he says it and why he plants that in their minds because they keep going and score a wonderful goal to win the game.”
Tottenham flourishing under Postecoglou
It is hard to disagree with Keown after his assessment of Spurs’ victory over Brighton.
Postecoglou has installed the values in his team to keep playing their football until the final whistle no matter what happens, and those values were highlighted by three of the players involved in Spurs’ second goal.
Richarlison, James Maddison and of course, Brennan Johnson all played a vital part in Tottenham’s 96th-minute winner, with the trio demonstarting the right quality at the right moment after not having had the best of games up until that point.
Johnson was the man who got the final touch, and it was a touch which saved him after an underwhelming cameo display up until the dying moments of the match.
As per Sofascore, having replaced Timo Werner in the 62nd minute, the Wales international only managed to complete 67 per cent of his passes and gave the ball away five times.
Having scored in his last four consecutive league matches, Richarlison wasn’t at his best against Roberto De Zerbi’s side as he completed just 63 per cent of his passes and missed one big chance.
Finally, while Maddison did create one big chance and completed 85 per cent of his passes, he also won just four of his nine ground duels and gave possession away 16 times.
Nonetheless, all three players put their mistakes behind them and stepped up for the hosts when it mattered most.
Maddison started the attack as he got his head up and spotted the run of Richarlison.
He found the striker, who had Son running to his left and Yves Bissouma making a move forward in the middle.
The Brazil international made the right choice and played a perfectly weighted pass into the path of his captain whose first-time cross was driven into the roof of the net by Johnson.
In other Tottenham news, ex-Spurs scout Bryan King was wowed by one player who “looked back to his best” against Brighton.
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