Brighton 4-2 Tottenham: Joao Pedro, Jack Hinshelwood and Pervis Estupinan strike for Seagulls… before Roberto De Zerbi’s side fend off late Spurs rally in thriller

In Brighton they will cherish 2023. A year in which they reached new heights, finishing sixth and taking the show to Marseille and Amsterdam. When they partied until the early hours with Fat Boy Slim in Athens.

When they opened up a four-goal lead against Tottenham, Seagulls supporters might have wished the year would never end. Although by the time the visitors reduced the deficit with two late goals to set up a thrilling nine minutes of stoppage time, everyone must have been exhausted and ready for a rest.

There were two penalties from Joao Pedro, a popular goal from homegrown teenager Jack Hinshelwood, a screamer from a fit against Pervis Estupinan and a late collapse.

Spurs salvaged some credibility with goals from Alejo Veliz and Ben Davies to finish top, but this was a worrying defeat for Ange Postecoglou as injuries bite him and he braces for the departure of three key players on international duty.

It wasn't likely to be a tough match, with two teams determined to attack and rarely watertight at the back. Brighton struck early through teenager Hinshelwood, who is expected to develop into a fine midfielder but is doing an excellent job at right-back and burst into Spurs' penalty area to score his second of the month.

Joao Pedro scored twice from the penalty spot in a dominant performance by the home side

Tottenham had a miserable night on a night when their makeshift defense was exposed

Pedro was the creator. In a silky smooth run from left to right across the 18-yard line, he dislodged the Spurs defenders and delivered a pass to Hinshelwood, who beat Guglielmo Vicario with a fierce drive and fired it straight over the goalkeeper's head.

Vicario, excellent against Everton on Saturday, had already made two brilliant saves from Danny Welbeck. The first jumps to the left to keep a curling iron at bay. The second was an incredible reaction from much closer.

Welbeck should have scored and looked as perplexed as everyone else at the Amex Stadium when his effort failed to find the net.

Once in the lead, Brighton continued to dominate. Vicario saved Pedro and Jan Paul van Hecke sent a header against a post from a corner that was swung to the back post by Pascal Gross.

Tottenham, without a recognized centre-back on the pitch and England centre-back Eric Dier on the bench, were vulnerable to the aerial power of Pedro and Welbeck, who played as split strikers either side of a false nine, Facundo Buonanotte.

The visitors also came under pressure at set pieces and although they clawed away the rebound from Van Hecke's header, there had been a pull from Dejan Kulusevski on Welbeck's shirt as he headed for a volley at goal.

VAR Peter Bankes sent referee Jarred Gillett to his on-pitch monitor to watch the replays and pointed to the spot on his return. Kulusevski was shown a yellow card and perhaps he was lucky that it was not considered an 'obvious goal scoring opportunity' due to the number of players on the line.

Lewis Dunk appeared to have this conversation with Gillett before Pedro sent Vicario the wrong way from the penalty spot to make it 2-0, his twelfth goal of the season in all competitions and his sixth penalty.

Jack Hinshelwood scored the opening goal for Brighton with a fierce drive to beat Vicario

Tottenham cracked. Injuries are piling up, especially in defensive areas. Oliver Skipp missed this with a punch. Postecoglou said he should be back against Bournemouth on Sunday.

Brighton's casualty list also reaches double figures, with wingers Kaoru Mitoma and Simon Adingra added this week. Unlike Spurs, they have a European campaign and yet they looked fresher and sharper.

Also in the first half, James Milner rattled the woodwork, Buonanotte's goal was disallowed for offside and Pedro raced through on a backpass that Pedro Porro had left short. With only Vicario to beat, the Brazilian got to work and the 'keeper managed to stay on his feet and push the ball wide.

Brighton could have been out of sight. Instead, Tottenham improved. Richarlison hit a post just before the break and found the net twice in the first twenty minutes of the second half, only to find he had been a yard offside on both occasions.

Heung-min Son won possession from Gross to create another good chance for Richarlison, who dragged a shot wide on the turn, and any prospect of a return disappeared when Estupinan, back from injury and at half-time, scored the third from Brighton hit the top. corner kick from 25 yards in the 64th minute.

Both sides made changes, but Giovani Lo Celso's first contribution was to take down Evan Ferguson for a penalty. Once again Pedro was clear from the spot and the Spurs supporters headed for the exits as the home crowd demanded a fifth place finish.

However, the fifth and sixth of the evening were scored by Tottenham. Veliz, playing his first since his £13million move from Rosario Central in the summer, turned in Son's cross. Then a header from Davies.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg hit a post in stoppage time but it proved too little too late for the Londoners, who have now scored in 31 consecutive Premier League games. Brighton's quest for a clean sheet continues. Something to aim for in 2024 perhaps.