Double Manchester defeats, but some redemption at Brighton

Neither Spurs team could muster points against the Manchester teams on the weekend, despite decent performances | The Men cruise to a clean sheet victory away at Brighton | Previewing the London derby on Sunday

Although the Men and Women played different Manchester teams on the weekend, both conceded all three points in equally frustrating results. For the Men, the frustration came from not taking advantage of two different opportunities to take the lead against a largely subpar United team, while for the Women, only a scrappy City goal made the difference for the visitors in an otherwise even matchup.

This newsletter issue is later than usual because I was out of town for a few days, and therefore these matches are not super fresh in my mind anymore. So let's just do a quick bullet point-style recap of each, then I'll give a more thorough recap of the Men's Brighton match.

Manchester United 3 - 2 Tottenham

• I refuse to utter his name, but a certain Portuguese player was shown way too much respect by our players and scored a hat trick for United. And no, I am not talking about Bruno. (We don't talk about Bruno... I'll see myself out!)

• United weren't exactly great on defense themselves, however, conceding a handball penalty and an own goal.

• As I mentioned earlier, both times that Spurs equalized we looked capable of pushing ahead to grab a winner, only for He Who Shall Not Be Named to strike again. The most frustrating part about this is that we largely dominated the match, but lost focus mentally at these crucial junctures of the match.

• In terms of in-game management, I would have liked to see Conte act earlier with his substitutions. They all came too little too late. I was also frustrated to see Deki subbed off instead of Son, considering their respective performances.

Tottenham 0 - 1 Manchester City

• In the first half especially, the match was very even, with Spurs and City both creating some quality build-up play but lacking the final pass or touch. A draw would have felt like a fair result, but unfortunately, City just edged us out with an opportunistic goal from Weir after a scramble in the box.

• Injuries were a big factor for Spurs, with Simon being forced off at halftime due to a knock and Williams not lasting long in the second half. Hopefully, it's nothing serious for either player as we need them back for the Chelsea match next midweek. Our attacking threat was noticeably reduced without them.

• Spencer started in goal to mark her 50th appearance for Spurs, and she put in a great shift. I was particularly impressed with her distribution; she often got our offensive movement started with a well-placed pass or throw. I know I say this constantly on here, but it truly is a massive boost to Spurs Women this season that we have two capable keepers in Spencer and Korpela and can feel confident no matter which one starts.

The results rollercoaster continues

In keeping with the current trend, the Men's team followed up the disappointing loss to United with a pretty decisive win at Brighton. It was so decisive that it felt almost casual in manner at times. These midweek games can be a little dangerous for those of us in the states who haven't had our afternoon caffeine, and I swear I nearly dozed off in the first half because of how routine the gameplay felt. Luckily, I kept myself awake to witness Kane breaking another record, not to mention Romero's first goal for Spurs (scored in fairly hilarious fashion, but they all count, right?).

Brighton 0 - 2 Tottenham

Both Spurs and Brighton had some physical moments in the game, including an early incident between Maupay and Dier that required our center-back to get his head bandaged up. Dier had a typically strong performance and kept the backline organized and impenetrable. So impenetrable, in fact, that Lloris didn't have to make a single save to contribute to the clean sheet. He did tidy up a few wayward Brighton crosses, of course.

Speaking of wayward balls... Romero notched his first goal for the team thanks to being in the right place at the right time in the 37th minute. Son passed to Kulusevski, and Deki's shot deflected off Romero and into the net. It wasn't a pretty goal, but it was long past time that Romero got one that counted (hasn't he had goals ruled offside twice already?). He still got his obligatory bone-headed yellow card later in the match, but that is the Full Romero experience, à la the Full Lamela of yore.

Kane, on the other hand, scored a perfectly acceptable goal in the 57th minute to make the result feel truly done and dusted (and also making up for the shot he missed in front of an open goal early on in the match). Bentancur deserves a lot of credit for the goal because his through pass to Kane was inch-perfect. It was nice to see him put in a strong bounce-back performance after his more lackluster effort in the United match. Kane did well to stay just onside for the pass and put so much power into his shot that Brighton's keeper Sánchez had no chance (I really think he thought Kane was offside though, judging by his body language after conceding the goal). Harry has now set the new record for most away goals in the Premier League, passing Wayne Rooney, and in 104 fewer appearances than Rooney! He also passed Frank Lampard in the total PL goals tally. All in a day's work for Kane. Plus, he celebrated in dramatic fashion by volleying a coke bottle that came down from the stands.

It was another quiet performance from Son, sadly, and much as you hate to bench a player that can pull off a feat of brilliance at any moment, I really think he could use a rest--not just physically, but also mentally. The transition to the Conte system has been challenging for Son and we really need him to be back at his best soon. But then again, West Ham are up next, and benching him for a derby match just doesn't feel right. I suppose Conte will have to assess where Son is at after the international break. It couldn't hurt to give Bergwijn a start against Newcastle after the break and bring Sonny on as sub, at the very least.

Brighton suffered the most when it came to quiet shifts from their top players, like Maupay and Bissouma. I honestly can't remember a single moment when Brighton seemed likely to score. Even better news:  we get to play them one more time this season, since this was one of our games in hand.

It's funny that after the United match we were all feeling so negative as a fanbase regarding Tottenham's top 4 chances, but now after beating Brighton, it feels like the train is back on track. Perspective can change so quickly. It helps that if you look at our remaining schedule and compare it to Arsenal's, currently our main rivals for the 4th spot, we have a clear advantage. Plus, we still have to play each other, and it's the home fixture for Spurs. Nothing is ever guaranteed in football though, so fingers crossed we can stay fit and get the business done more consistently than we have in recent weeks.

But there are no easy matches in the Premier League...

...and our first opportunity to finally string together two winning results in a row comes against a challenging opponent, West Ham. They're challenging not just because of their improved form overall this season, but also because of the emotional derby factor. At least we have the home side advantage to draw on, and West Ham have the disadvantage of having gone into extra time in their Europa League second leg against Sevilla. Speaking of the Europa League, that's a big reason I don't think West Ham are likely to edge out the rest of the pack for top 4; they will have at least two extra matches in their schedule now thanks to advancing in the EL, while Spurs, Manchester United, and Arsenal have all been knocked out of Europe (or were never there in the first place, in Arsenal's case). Plus, Spurs and Arsenal have one and two matches in hand, respectively, on both West Ham and United.

Still, West Ham will be riding on a high from knocking out Sevilla, and it might be enough to overcome the fatigue. Spurs will have to be diligent in defense once again to keep out the likes of Antonio, Souček, and Yarmolenko (who has scored in two matches in a row in all competitions). They have a couple of key injuries in Bowen and Coufal, while Antonio and Cresswell are both game-time decisions. We will be wishing we had Skipp back already to counter Rice in the midfield. Unless there are any pressing fitness concerns for the players in our last starting XI, I would stick with that lineup so that we can, again, build some consistency. And for the love of god, please let Romero make it through the whole match without a yellow card--he's dangerously close to a two-match suspension for season-long yellow card accumulation.

This matchup hasn't been a surefire win in quite a few seasons now, and I will admit that I'm slightly dreading it--especially with the recent win/loss/win/loss pattern Spurs have been stuck in. But we have to believe! A win in this fixture would be massive in the top 4 chase.  It's time for the team to show some resilience and a firmer mentality from game to game.

Let's wrap things up with a photo of two of Tottenham's greatest defenders:

Definitely looking forward to hearing that chat!

COYS