Premier League 2019/20: Brighton vs Tottenham – Tactical Analysis

In their first season with new manager Graham Potter, Brighton have had a decent start to the Premier League season. With six points under their belt after the first seven matches, there were still questions regarding the team’s performance. Nonetheless, the South Coast side welcomed Champions League finalist Tottenham Hotspur to their home Amex Stadium.

Some would think this might be the chance for Tottenham to shake off their losses to Colchester and Bayern München with a comfortable win. But things happened in the opposite way on the field when Neal Maupay opened the score in the third minute. The home side didn’t stop there as young Irish striker Aaron Connolly completed Brighton’s win with a brace.

This tactical analysis will provide an analysis of Brighton’s 3-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur. Meanwhile, using statistics, we will point out what went wrong for Mauricio Pochettino’s tactics against Graham Potter’s tactics.

Lineups

Potter decided to shake up his team a bit, with the most noticeable change occurring in the team’s formation. From a 3-5-1-1 against Chelsea, he switched back to an original 4-4-2 with Lewis Dunk and Adam Webster paired up as centre-backs. Since Shane Duffy was absented through a calf injury, the former Bristol City defender remained Dunk’s colleague in this match.

Dan Burn, though, was moved into a left-back instead of being a centre-back similar to the match against Chelsea. Davy Pröpper was a doubt for this match and Potter went for youngster Steven Alzate to replace his spot. New signing Leandro Trossard suffered a groin injury and could only return after the international break. Therefore, Australian midfielder Aaron Mooy was chosen to occupy the left midfielder spot.

Pochettino went for what was considered Tottenham’s strongest 4-2-3-1 lineup. Hugo Lloris continued to be the first choice but he was forced to leave the field after three minutes. His attempt to save a shot from Pascal Groß ended with a harsh landing and he broke his left hand so eventually he was replaced by Paulo Gazzaniga later on.

In terms of before the match, the visitors didn’t have the service of the two new signings in Giovani Lo Celso and Ryan Sessegnon. They suffered a groin and thigh injury respectively and are only slated to return in late October. Serge Aurier was suspended for this match after he received a second yellow card against Southampton, so his replacement was Moussa Sissoko, who was converted into a right-back.

Spurs style of play

Statistically speaking, it’s quite surprising to see Tottenham struggling to create chances. Although they registered eight chances and managed to get three of them on target, those numbers are only half of what Brighton have done. Furthermore, the away side only had two chances in the first half, with Christian Eriksen came the closest from a long shot.

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