Brighton and Hove Albion vs Tottenham Hotspur; Premier League
Brighton and Hove Albion vs Tottenham Hotspur. Premier League.
Amex StadiumAttendance31,488.
Brighton and Hove Albion 2
- Y Minteh (8th minute)
- Y Ayari (31st minute)
Tottenham Hotspur 2
- Richarlison (43rd minute)
- J van Hecke (82nd minute own goal)
Brighton 2-2 Tottenham: Jan Paul van Hecke’s own goal rescues point for Spurs in comeback draw
Match report and free match highlights as Tottenham rescue point at Brighton after going 2-0 down; Yankuba Minteh and Yasin Ayari put Brighton 2-0 up after 31 minutes; Richarlison pulled one back before half-time; Jan Paul van Hecke's late own goal completed Spurs comeback
Sunday 21 September 2025 07:29, UK
Jan Paul van Hecke's late own goal rescued a point for Tottenham as they came from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at Brighton.
Tottenham had it all to do when they conceded twice after 31 minutes. Yankuba Minteh scored with Brighton's first attack in the eighth minute as he coolly rounded Guglielmo Vicario to roll home.
Vicario, though, would have been disappointed with his part in Brighton's second as Yasin Ayari's shot beat him from distance.
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But Richarlison pulled one back from close range just before half-time to give Spurs hope of doing what Brighton did to them last season, as they came back from 2-0 down to beat them 3-2 at the Amex in October 2024.
Spurs pushed for a second-half equaliser as substitute Xavi Simons twice went close, with Bart Verbruggen making a good save in the 64th minute before he dragged wide just four minutes later.
But the visitors' pressure eventually told in the 82nd minute as Mohammed Kudus' cross was turned into his own net by Van Hecke.
Kudus went close to a winner in stoppage time, but Spurs secured the point that takes them above their north London rivals Arsenal into second place. The Gunners, though, have the chance to go back above Tottenham on Sunday when they host Manchester City, live on Sky Sports.
Brighton, meanwhile, are now unbeaten in their last seven at home and remain 13th in the table.
Frank: Mentality and physicality key in 'best performance of season'
Tottenham boss Thomas Frank speaking at his post-match press conference:
"I think maybe this was our most complete performance so far in the season.
"I know we conceded two goals, but I think actually there were so many positives overall in the game. Also the high pressure, the man to man, very aggressive.
"The resilience in the group, that mentality is good.
"[I] spoke about mentality before the game to the players, that to go down here against a good Brighton side, away from home, on the back end of our first Champions League game, it's all about mentality.
"Of course, we need structure, tactics and a game plan, but at the end of the day, it's mentality to stay in there when it's tough.
"And I love the way we started the game. Away from home, we were just boom, on top of it. I don't think Brighton were over the halfway line in the first before they scored.
"But we keep going, we stayed in the game, stick to the game plan, and I thought we looked physically strong. I thought the players looked strong and we were intense throughout the game, even though we had a midweek game.
"So the mentality, the physical aspect, I thought was key. And coming here, where last year, we were 2-0 up and lost 3-2, now we're 2-0 down and come back to 2-2, I think it's good.
"And if there should have been a winner in my eyes, and maybe slightly biased, I think it should have been us.
"I think the amount of crosses, the amount of touches in the opponent's box, the amount of nearby chances was more than enough to win the game."
Palhinha: Spurs upset despite comeback
Tottenham midfielder Joao Palhinha speaking to Sky Sports:
"I think we leave this stadium really sad, because in my opinion, we completely deserved to win the game.
"I think we started really well and created a lot of chances. Arriving to the last third in good shape. We suffered two goals against the run of play.
"It is not easy losing 2-0 away, in a tough stadium like this, against a good team. We leave a bit with a feeling that we could've done more."
Hurzeler: Brighton unlucky to only draw
Brighton head coach Fabian Hurzeler speaking to Sky Sports:
“Overall I think it was an unlucky draw for us.
"We started strongly in the first phase of the game, we created chances, we scored two goals and then we got a little bit passive. We conceded the first goal in an unlucky moment, out of an unlucky situation.
“Then in the second half we defended a lot, we had to defend but we were still very dangerous after the transition moments. I think we could finish the game with one transition action we had but we weren't able to do this.
“In some moments we had to suffer after we conceded the second goal. I think we showed a great reaction, we had a lot of energy on the pitch, we were trying to go for the win, we created chances.
“So overall of course it doesn't feel great but I saw a lot of positives, good small steps in the right direction and then we have to keep on pushing.”
Analysis: Spurs show resilience to make up for last year's collapse
Last season, this Spurs side embarrassingly collapsed at Brighton, but nearly a year on, they showed real fight to rescue a draw as they appear far more resilient under Thomas Frank.
Having gone 2-0 down after 31 minutes on Saturday, Spurs looked set to suffer their first away defeat under the Dane, but there is a steeliness about this Tottenham side that was not always evident under Ange Postecoglou.
Last October, Spurs went 2-0 up after 37 minutes, but a shocking second-half surrender saw Brighton win 3-2 with Postecoglou labelling it then as his "worst defeat" of his tenure.
For Frank, the same venue has provided the opposite feeling as he called the 2-2 draw their "best performance of the season".
He had a point with Spurs looking far more threatening than in their midweek Champions League home win over Villarreal.
Frank was also delighted with their "mentality" and "physicality" in their comeback over Brighton - something they are going to need plenty of with a potential 50-plus game season in store.
Eyebrows were slightly raised when £51m signing Xavi Simons started on the bench, but he came on to great effect in the No 10 role, where surely he will have a much better impact than out on the left-wing.
Another bright spot was left-back Destiny Udogie, whom Frank hailed "exceptional" and "unstoppable" on his first start of the season.
Udogie was a part of that Spurs side which crumbled on the south coast last season, but in this rescue act he was one to display Frank's pursuit of a tougher and determined Spurs.
