Brighton & Hove Albion produced a remarkable second-half comeback as Georginio Rutter scored one and helped set up another in a THRILLING 3-2 home victory over Tottenham Hotspur.

James Maddison doubled the visitors’ lead before the break, helped by Bart Verbruggen’s poor handling, but Yankuba Minteh halved that deficit after the restart.

Rutter restored parity prior to the hour mark before edging past numerous Tottenham defenders, with his cross deflecting up for Danny Welbeck to head in and seal a memorable turnaround.

Verbruggen was still required to deny Destiny Udogie late on, however, as Fabian Hurzeler’s side held on for a victory that lifted them to sixth, three places above Spurs.

Maddison saw a 21st-minute finish ruled out for an earlier offside against Pedro Porro, though there was no denying the visitors two minutes later when Dominic Solanke’s well-weighted pass teed up Johnson’s sweeping left-footed strike.

Tottenham continued to dominate and found further reward when Maddison’s tame attempt from Timo Werner’s cutback somehow squirmed through Verbruggen’s grasp.

An error at the other end offered Brighton hope when Udogie made a mess of clearing Pervis Estupinan’s left-wing delivery, with Minteh slamming in from close range on 48 minutes.

The hosts were back on level terms 10 minutes later when Kaoru Mitoma’s delicate through-ball freed Rutter, who danced around two Tottenham defenders before firing a low left-footed finish past the helpless Guglielmo Vicario.

And Rutter proved the difference for Brighton’s winner, battling to the byline past three Spurs defenders before lunging to lift a cross, which looped up off Rodrigo Bentancur, towards the six-yard box, where Welbeck was waiting to cap off a stunning comeback win.

Attacking brilliance masks Brighton’s high-line issues

Hurzeler made a great start, with back-to-back victories over Everton and Manchester United in his first two games in charge, but a four-game winless run in the league brought questions heading into this contest.

Brighton’s insistence on playing a high line was exposed in a 4-2 thrashing by Chelsea last time out, and the same strategy posed further issues in a one-sided first half.

Yet Hurzeler found a solution, removing struggling left-back Ferdi Kadioglu at half-time to introduce Estupinan, who offered defensive cover, as well as a deadly delivery for Minteh’s hammering finish.

Further joy followed down that same side as Mitoma, who also created a glorious chance for Welbeck in the first half, then tested the hands of Vicario with a low drive.

It was Mitoma again who smartly ghosted into an inside pocket of space before sliding through for Rutter, who made the most out of a half-chance to punish Spurs’ fragile defence.

Hurzeler will know his team are by no means the finished article, with numerous concerns at the back, though Rutter and Mitoma’s attacking brilliance will have Brighton hopeful of further climbing the table when they visit Newcastle United after the international break.

Setback for Spurs

On the back of last week’s dominant win at Old Trafford, Postecoglou promised Spurs would not relent from their usual attacking principles on the south coast, and the away side delivered another exciting performance in the first half.

Werner burst through Brighton’s high line before his sliding across evaded the stretch of Johnson after less than a minute – and that was a sign of things to come.

Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski were both denied by fine blocks in the early stages, too, before Solanke showed brilliant intelligence to drop deep and play through both Brighton’s centre-backs to tee up Johnson’s opener.

Solanke’s expert centre-forward play proved fruitful for Spurs’ second as well, with the former Bournemouth striker dropping deep to free Werner, whose offload set up Maddison’s fortuitous finish.

Johnson blazed another presentable opening over after Kulusevski’s fine pass, though defensive issues came back to haunt Postecoglou’s men from then on.

Udogie and Cristian Romero were left wanting for Minteh’s strike, with Micky van de Ven also beaten too easily for Rutter’s leveller before the Frenchman brushed off three of Postecoglou’s defenders to create Welbeck’s winner.

For all of Spurs’ attacking excitement, Postecoglou must find solutions at the back. West Ham are up next for Tottenham.

Club reports

Brighton report | Spurs report

Match officials

Referee: David Coote. Assistants: Timothy Wood, Craig Taylor. Fourth official: Andy Madley. VAR: Paul Tierney. Assistant VAR: Adam Nunn.

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