Formation change and some much-needed rotation
Following the success of a 3-5-2 formation in the final 20 minutes of last month's 6-2 demolition of Leicester City, Antonio Conte finally opted to go with the setup from the off at Brighton & Hove Albion. That meant Yves Bissouma came in for only his second Spurs start, as he was named in the side against his former club.
Making four changes in total from the goalless draw at Eintracht Frankfurt in midweek, Matt Doherty, Ben Davies and Ryan Sessegnon were the other three to come in alongside Bissouma. The formation change meant there was no place for Richarlison in the XI, though.
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Making some much-needed alterations with plenty of games on the agenda and switching his system was something many fans believed Conte needed to do a couple of games ago. Tottenham certainly did look better for having that extra man in midfield after making a strong start on the south coast, although they later fell into the same trap and went back to their previous ways with Brighton on top and looking to score.
Ventrone tribute
It has been an incredibly sad few days at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium following the news of Gian Piero Ventrone's death this week. A key part of Conte's backroom team, the fitness coach, was adored by all at the club, and his passing will leave a huge hole at Spurs.
On Friday, the club confirmed their plans to pay tribute to Ventrone at the Amex Stadium and also in Wednesday's Champions League home tie against Eintracht Frankfurt. Wearing t-shirts ahead of kick-off, which featured the words 'Always in our hearts — Gian Piero' in both English and Italian, both sides wore black armbands and also took part in a minute's applause just before the game commenced.
During the minute's applause, Tottenham team manager Allan Dixon could be seen holding a Spurs home shirt aloft with 'Gian Piero' printed on the back. It was a very emotional time for the Tottenham squad and all on the bench, with Conte wiping away tears once the referee had signalled the end of the applause.
After scoring the opener through Harry Kane in the 22nd minute, the striker, who was visibly emotional and close to tears in his post-match interview with Sky Sports, paid tribute to the popular coach by pointing towards the sky just before play got underway once again. There was to be a further tribute at the end of the game with the shirt Dixon was holding ahead of the encounter in Lloris' hands as he made his way past the excellent travelling support, who chanted 'There's only one Gian Piero' in response.
It was a touching moment as Tottenham ended a heartbreaking week in the best way possible.
Rusty Doherty
Tottenham fans have been calling for a change at right wing-back this season, with Emerson Royal just not having a big impact in the final third. Good defensively and clearly doing something right to be a regular in Conte's XI. The Brazilian's play going forward does tend to let him down more often than not as he is a right-back by trade.
Suspended for the game following his red at Arsenal last weekend, Doherty came into the side and got in a number of promising positions early on. Not looking up and picking out Sessegnon, who was sprinting towards the back post, the roles were reversed a matter of minute as they combined with the Republic of Ireland international narrowly shooting over from the left wing-back's cross.
On the ball a lot and getting forward when he could, Doherty's play was understandably rusty at times, having not started a game since sustaining a knee injury at Aston Villa at the start of April. Minutes on the pitch is what he needs, though, for him to get back to the high levels he was producing for Conte in the final few minutes of 2021/22.
Needless Bissouma repeat
Making do with limited minutes since his summer move from Brighton & Hove Albion, Bissouma was finally brought into the Tottenham XI by Conte as the team travelled to his former home. Part of a midfield three with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Rodrigo Bentancur, it wasn't a surprise to see the Mali international struggle a couple of times, to begin with due to a lack of regular match action before eventually growing into the game.
What certainly didn't help the player's cause from the 30th minute onwards was the needless yellow card he picked up following a foul on Alexis Mac Allister. With Spurs in no real danger due to the Argentine's position on the pitch, it was extremely frustrating to see the summer signing jump in and bring his former teammate down, which gave the referee no choice but to brandish the yellow card.
Bissouma was left walking a tightrope in his previous Spurs start at West Ham after receiving a caution for dissent after punching the ball away. Playing the full 90 minutes at the London Stadium that evening with Bentancur absent and Oliver Skipp not fully fit, the 26-year-old this time made way as he was replaced in the 70th minute by Richarlison as Conte tweaked Tottenham's system.
Dier's reaction to Doherty
Going close to an equaliser on quite a few occasions, notably through Lewis Dunk and Solly March, Brighton put Tottenham under plenty of pressure in the closing stages at the Amex. A familiar feeling to the game with the visitors having to defend and then hit their opponents on the counter, Spurs thankfully held on for all three points.
Key to their win was Doherty making a crucial intervention just before the 90th minute with Brighton in such a promising position. Some good work from Adam Lallana outside the box resulted in him finding Leandro Trossard in space, only for Doherty to come from nowhere and deny the Belgian just as he was about to take a touch and get his effort off.
It was sublime defending from the Irishman, and it was no surprise to see Eric Dier come over to hug him once Tottenham were no longer in danger. It really was such an important block.
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