Ange Postecoglou described Tottenham Hotspur’s 3-2 defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion as “the worst” since he took charge of the club in 2023.
The north London side held a 2-0 half-time lead at the Amex Stadium before goals from Yankuba Minteh, Georginio Rutter, and Danny Welbeck inspired a memorable comeback.
It was Tottenham’s third Premier League defeat of the season and head coach Postecoglou criticised his players after the full-time whistle.
“It’s disappointing and frustrating. I am absolutely gutted with that,” he told Sky Sports. “That is probably the worst defeat we’ve had since I’ve been here. It was an unacceptable second half. We weren’t anywhere near where we should be.
“We got carried away with how we were going. We kind of accepted our fate which is hard to understand. We usually fight for everything. When you don’t you pay a price, and today we paid the price.”
Following the 1-0 north London derby defeat to Arsenal on September 15, Tottenham won five consecutive games, including a 3-0 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford on September 29.
Postecoglou spoke about his side’s good form going into Sunday’s game possibly giving them a false sense of security, saying: “Maybe things were travelling too smoothly.
Football and life will trip you up if you get too far ahead of yourself and that is what it looked like to me today. Today is a terrible loss for us. As bad as it gets and there is only one way to fix it which is my responsibility.
“We didn’t do what you need to do at this level, it’s kind of non-negotiable. We just weren’t competitive. We didn’t win our duels, we lacked intensity, we didn’t deliver the things you need to at this level, the basics of the game, and paid the price for it.
“It’s unacceptable at the end of the day. You can kind of understand that you’re not going to win every game. But there’s the manner you lose games. And that’s the first time since I’ve been here that we’ve lost the game in that manner. And like I said, unacceptable.”
The defeat leaves Tottenham in ninth position in the Premier League. They are next in action against West Ham United after the international break on October 19.
(Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
