Brighton 2-2 Tottenham: Van Hecke own goal completes Spurs comebck
Thomas Frank's Tottenham managed to remain unbeaten on the road as they came back from two goals down to secure a point against Brighton.
Tottenham came from two goals down to draw 2-2 against Brighton at the Amex Stadium, where Jan Paul van Hecke scored a late own goal.
Thomas Frank seemed to be staring down the barrel of a second Premier League defeat as Spurs boss, but the visitors lodged a second-half fightback to temporarily move up to second in the Premier League table.
Against the run of play, Yankuba Minteh put Brighton ahead in the eighth minute, beating Spurs' offside trap before rounding Guglielmo Vicario and finishing into an empty net.
The Seagulls doubled their advantage 23 minutes later as Yasin Ayari caught Vicario off-guard with a stunning long-range effort.
Yet Richarlison managed to halve the deficit just before half-time, slotting home after Mohammed Kudus’ effort fell kindly to him.
Second-half substitute Xavi Simons made a much-needed impact off the bench, creating two chances of his own before playing a role in Spurs' 82nd-minute equaliser.
The Dutchman skipped past a challenge before spraying the ball to Kudus, whose cross seemed to take a flick off Joao Palhinha before diverting in off the unfortunate Van Hecke.
Data Debrief: Spurs' struggles after Europe continue
Despite retaining 64.1% of possession, Spurs were patient with their attacks. They produced 1.22 expected goals (xG) from 11 attempts to Brighton's 1.28 from 12 shots.
Frank will be relieved to leave with a point, but it highlights an underlying problem for Spurs. They have won just one of their last nine Premier League games that have come after playing in Europe in midweek (D3 L5), with that sole victory coming against Burnley this season following the Super Cup.
Brighton, meanwhile, failed to win a Premier League home game in which they led by two or more goals for just a third time (also a 2-2 draw with Southampton in April 2022 and a 2-2 draw with Wolves in October 2024).
Richarlison, meanwhile, continued his strong start to the campaign. He has scored 14 goals in his last 19 Premier League starts for Tottenham.
