Tottenham suffered a defeat on Saturday, after winning their four previous games, which started with their trip to the AMEX Stadium. When Brighton traveled to north London the tables turned and Graham Potter's side managed a 1-0 victory.
Spurs still sit fourth in the Premier League, with Arsenal also losing 1-0 to Southampton on the same day. However, Antonio Conte's side now have a lot of work to do in the final stretch of the season.
The Lilywhites started 2022 with a poor run of form, winning one and then losing the next. This pattern ended after they beat Brighton and then West Ham and everything looked as though it was heading in the right direction.
READ MORE: Dimitar Berbatov says Tottenham should be 'close to the top' with consistency under pressure
However, after the four wins on the trot, Tottenham then lost in a game they were expected to get three points out of. Sitting in fourth place ahead of the clash, Dimitar Berbatov had explained that Spurs needed to be able to find consistency under pressure, which the north London side failed to do.
The Brighton tie not only ended Spurs' winning streak, but the performance was also disappointing and the home side failed to have a shot on target in the whole game. Jermaine Jenas gave his verdict after the match and was honest in explaining his thoughts on his former side's display.
"For 90 minutes there was nothing from anyone in a Spurs shirt and I’ve not [seen] that in a while. This team can’t play poorly and win a game," he admitted.
"It’s easy to win when you’re playing well, but the best teams can win games when they don’t. It’s coming. I feel like it’s coming. You don’t want to go over the top from one result.
"It was a poor performance, anyone can have a poor performance. There’s no doubt that they are building more resilience. The defence is becoming stronger. Everything about Tottenham has become difficult to beat," Jenas added.
As the 39-year-old explained, Spurs produced a sloppy performance and there were a number of issues all over the pitch. This would've been a great time for one of the substitutes to come on and change the game.
However, another ongoing issue for Conte's side is the lack of quality in squad depth. Yes, the likes of Steven Bergwijn and Lucas Moura have previously come on and made an impact, but Tottenham don't have that quality on the bench from multiple players, that they need.
This is why the summer is likely to be a busy one for Fabio Paratici, who needs to solve this problem. Jenas also commented on the fact that the best teams can win games, without producing a top performance, but Tottenham failed to do so and this further highlighted the work that still needs to be done.
After Liverpool's 3-2 victory against Man City in the FA Cup semi final on Saturday, Danny Murphy praised Jurgen Klopp's side. "Incredible, the level of consistency," he admitted.
"The energy and tempo was right, the selection was good. It doesn’t matter what quality of opposition you have, if you get in front, it’s very hard against Liverpool.
"He’s [Klopp] constantly getting results and it’s not always when they play well. So, why not [win the quadruple]?" Murphy added.
Liverpool have the tempo, consistency and energy that Tottenham didn't have against Brighton. This was a change from the Lilywhites' recent performances and so one result shouldn't be dwelled on too much, but the inconsistency problem is something that doesn't seem to have yet been solved.
Klopp did praise Conte's side in his pre-match press conference on Tuesday. "If you are [fifth] in the Premier League it means you are a quality side because with all the opponents you have, it’s madness how consistent you have to be to get somehow close to that area," he said, via The Evening Standard.
"You see Tottenham flying in the moment and then get a little drop [at the weekend], but the quality they have is incredible." This reiterates the key problem and why Spurs haven't been able to create a larger gap between them in fourth place and the teams below them.
If the Lilywhites want to be competing with the likes of Liverpool and Man City at the top, they have to find this consistency. That is likely to be helped by bringing in new players, but the current members of Conte's squad need to also continue to improve and be able to find consistency when they are on a good run of positive results.
For now, the Lilywhites need to focus on their final six games of the season, which includes a trip to Anfield, and get the best possible results out of them to give them every chance of finishing inside the top four. Next will be trying to improve the squad and work hard during the summer, in preparation for the start of the 2022/23 campaign.
