Tottenham Hotspur secured a 2-1 win against Brighton in a fiery north London affair, which saw managers Cristian Stellini and Roberto De Zerbi sent off. The match was marred by controversy, with Tottenham benefiting from some favourable VAR decisions that saw Brighton have two goals ruled out. Despite the victory keeping Stellini’s side in touching distance of fourth spot and extending their lead over seventh-placed Brighton to seven points, former Tottenham midfielder and talkSPORT host Jamie O’Hara accused the team of being “average”. Fans chanted for Mauricio Pochettino’s return to the club as Antonio Conte’s permanent successor, but O’Hara failed to see the positives from the display.
Speaking on the GameDay Phone-In after Spurs’ victory, O’Hara said: “It was an average performance from Tottenham today, we got away with a few. I thought the ref was poor for Brighton, and there was a definite stonewall penalty for Brighton.” Ex-Liverpool striker Dean Saunders interjected, stating: “If Harry Kane is not playing, you draw 1-1.” To which O’Hara replied by saying: “Yeah. That’s been the difference with Tottenham all season. The only reason we are where we are is because we’ve got Harry Kane in the team. The performances are so average, it’s a joke, but when you’ve got a world-class striker in your team, he’s going to win games for you. He’s got 22 [23] goals in the Premier League this season, it’s outrageous in a bang-average side, it’s crazy.”
Despite O’Hara’s critical view of Spurs, interim boss Stellini was happy with what he saw from his side. In an exclusive interview with talkSPORT’s Ian Danter, he remarked: “We knew it would be a tough game, and we played a tough game and we created many chances to score. Today we scored two, but probably we could score more. We conceded a bit of possession in the first half. But this is the game we have to play against this type of team in this moment.” He added: “We played a great match, we had to do some things better with the ball, but it’s good the game. We are happy with the game we played.”
The victory has boosted Tottenham’s chances of a top-four finish, but O’Hara’s comments highlight the team’s perceived lack of quality. The fans’ chants for Pochettino’s return suggest that they believe he could bring back the success that the club enjoyed under his management. However, it remains to be seen whether he will return to Tottenham or take on another role elsewhere.
Overall, Tottenham’s performance against Brighton was far from perfect, but they managed to secure a vital win that keeps them in contention for a Champions League spot. With Kane continuing to score goals and Stellini’s side showing resilience in tough matches, there is still hope that Tottenham can finish the season strongly and achieve their goals.