It was almost a throwaway line from Antonio Conte but one that cut to the core of why Tottenham lost to Brighton.
"I think that Brighton was very good to close the space, and we were not so good to close the space," said the Tottenham head coach in the aftermath of the defeat to Graham Potter's side. "In the difficulty, we have to try and find the solution with a single player. We can do much better."
Those big 'single' players have stepped up with pieces of magic for Spurs in recent weeks as they have surged into the Premier League's top four. Alongside the workers in the Tottenham team, all of Conte's stars have shone together - Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, Cristian Romero, Rodrigo Bentancur and rising star Dejan Kulusevski.
