Tottenham bounced back from their North London Derby defeat with a win against Brighton thanks to Harry Kane's brilliant header.
Antonio Conte admitted it was difficult to prepare his team for the game on Saturday evening after Spurs were shocked by the news that fitness coach Gian Piero Ventrone had passed away earlier in the week. Kane pointed to the sky after scoring the only goal of the game, which would hand the Lilywhites all three points, in a subdued celebration following a wonderful tribute pre-match.
It was a strong performance for Spurs who clawed back some ground to their rivals Manchester City and Arsenal at the top of the table. Hugo Lloris paid his own respects to Ventrone, lifting up a Tottenham shirt with the fitness coach's name on the back in front of the travelling Tottenham fans.
READ MORE: Antonio Conte pays tribute to Gian Piero Ventrone ahead of Brighton vs Tottenham
Here's how the national media reacted to the impressive win on a sad day for Spurs.
Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte cut an emotional figure before his side's clash with Brighton as both clubs paid tribute to Spurs fitness coach Gian Piero Ventrone, who died this week at the age of 61. Ventrone, who worked with Conte at Juventus as well as Tottenham, passed away from fulminant leukaemia.
The club paid their own tribute during the week, with a number of members of Conte's squad sharing their personal memories of the Italian. In addition to the manager's comments, Spurs' players paid their respects during the warm-up ahead of the Premier League match against Brighton & Hove Albion. The players walked out onto the pitch wearing t-shirts bearing the message 'Always in our hearts, Gian Piero'.
For Antonio Conte and Tottenham the emotions were painfully raw and impossible to contain at times as they ended a difficult week by fighting their way to a victory they dedicated to their lost fitness guru. Harry Kane scored the only goal of the game at Brighton, a glancing header in the first half, and pointed to the sky in subdued celebration, in memory of Gian Piero Ventrone, who died suddenly last week at the age of 61. Ventrone was on everyone’s minds at the Amex Stadium.
Three points keep Tottenham in touch within three points of Premier League leaders Manchester City after nine games. Conte gave his formation a little shake, with Richarlison dropping to the bench to accommodate a third central midfielder, and it was Yves Bissouma starting his first Premier League game for his new club against the team he left in the summer.
Bissouma did not enjoy the warmest return. When he collected a yellow card on the half-hour for a poor tackle, late and high on Alexis Mac Allister, the home crowd chanted for him to be sent off, and he was booed off when substituted, in the second half.
De Zerbi, the former Sassuolo manager, failed to defeat a team coached by Conte in four Serie A matches and his Italian compatriot once again had the upper hand here, with Harry Kane’s first-half header settling the contest. Tottenham were again short of their fluent best but the win ensured the club consolidated their hold on third place and ended an emotional week on a high.
The striker is dominating the best of the rest in the race to finish behind Erling Haaland as top goalscorer. This was his eighth Premier League goal of the season and he has now scored in each of his last four appearances in the competition.
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