Tottenham have lost one of their five league games so far this season.
For a fleeting moment at Brighton on Saturday, Tottenham fans may have feared the return of a familiar narrative surrounding their team’s inconsistency this season.
Despite an impressive start to the campaign and early dominance against the Seagulls, finding themselves trailing 2-0 after just 30 minutes stirred memories of the term ‘‘Spursy’.’ It was, after all, at the same venue where they surrendered a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 less than a year ago.
However, much to the relief of Tottenham supporters, this feeling proved short-lived.
Goals from Richarlison and a Jan Paul van Hecke own goal allowed Thomas Frank’s team to secure a point. Indeed, they created enough opportunities to have taken more.
Notably, this result marked the first time in three years that Tottenham have avoided defeat in an away league game after trailing by two or more goals – ending a sequence of 15 losses in such matches – potentially signaling a shift in mentality under Frank.
“I think this is our best performance of the season,” the Spurs boss told BBC Match of the Day.
“I actually think that overall, if there should have been a winner, it should have been us.
“So many crosses into the box, near chances, missed opportunities. We were physically strong and mentally strong, and that is so important if you want to achieve something.”
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Best performance of the season – Frank
Following Tottenham’s resilient 1-0 victory against Villarreal in their Champions League return during the week, Lucas Bergvall praised their “clean-sheet mentality,” highlighting their fourth shutout in the first five games of the season.
When that clean sheet opportunity was quickly nullified by Brighton on Saturday, the Spurs players demonstrated a different form of resilience.
This time, they exhibited unwavering determination and a belief in their ability to salvage something from the game, despite a historically poor record of recovering from two-goal deficits.
“The mentality that we showed, I was so impressed with,” added Frank.
“[We showed] the mentality to stay in the game, to keep going, to keep pushing and come back and get a well deserved 2-2.”
Tottenham midfielder Joao Palhinha told Sky Sports: “At least what we can take is the mentality that we had fighting for the result.”
He added: “This mentality needs to be there always regardless of the result.”
Against Brighton, Tottenham registered 45 touches of the ball inside the opposition box, compared to just 17 for Brighton.
They also recorded 11 shots on goal but just three of those were on target.
While Tottenham appear to have made strides defensively and mentally compared to last season, testing the opposition goalkeeper appears to be an area where they have, at least temporarily, regressed.
“There are a lot of things for this team to keep improving,” Palhinha added.
“But these improvements have come week by week.”
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