Tottenham Hotspur's misery on the road continued as they fell to a 3-0 defeat against an excellent Brighton & Hove Albion side, while the serious looking injury to Hugo Lloris after three minutes made a bad day even worse.
Positives
A half-time switch to a three-man defence alleviated some of the pressure from a haggard Tottenham defence, but it was too little, too late.
Negatives
Lloris' early error to gift Brighton their first goal was compounded by what looks like a nasty arm injury that will keep him out for a while. Meanwhile, there was an alarming lack of intensity from a Spurs side that just don't look happy at the moment, and the central defensive partnership of Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld is looking a real weak spot.
Manager rating out of 10
5 -- It was a poor decision from Mauricio Pochettino to leave Harry Winks on the bench against a side that likes to dominate the ball, and his absence led to a lack of cohesion in the Spurs midfield which encouraged Brighton to pour forward. Tough decisions need to be made if the Argentine is to clean up a messy defence.
Player ratings (1-10; 10 = best, players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating)
GK: Hugo Lloris, NR -- Committed an absolute howler as he dropped an awkward cross at the feet of Neal Maupay to nod home an early opener, but was only on the pitch for three minutes after landing badly on his arm so it's unfair to give him a rating. After he was stretchered off, he was replaced by Paulo Gazzaniga.
DF: Ben Davies, 5 -- The Welshman will be disappointed he was beaten to the ball by Aaron Connolly on two occasions for Brighton's second, and failed to get forward enough to support an attack that looked isolated.
DF: Jan Vertonghen, 5 -- Picked up a shiner following a nasty clash of heads with Brighton goal scorer Maupay, and had a tough time dealing with the quick movement of the Seagulls' frontline.
DF: Toby Alderweireld, 4 -- Along with Vertonghen, the Belgian struggled aerially against the much smaller Brighton forwards, and had his fair share of awkward moments in possession. Beaten way too easily by Connolly as the Irishman cut inside before stroking the ball home for 3-0.
DF: Moussa Sissoko, 5 -- Lack of pressure on the Brighton cross resulted in their second goal, and the stand-in right-back looked much more comfortable when venturing into the opposition half rather than when he was trying to defend his own box.
MF: Eric Dier, 4 -- Completely overwhelmed by the intense Brighton press, and couldn't get a foothold in the game. Fortunate to only be booked for an elbow on Brighton's Connolly at the start of the second half.
MF: Tanguy Ndombele, 5 -- One of the few Spurs players who showed some fight but did little to help his side when out of possession, and was taken off for Harry Winks at half-time.
MF: Christian Eriksen, 5 -- Registered his side's first shot on goal after 25 minutes when he fired straight at Mat Ryan in the Brighton goal, but the Dane is playing like a man who reckons his future is elsewhere.
MF: Erik Lamela, 5 -- A disappointing showing as the Spurs' frontline failed to lay a hand on their excellent opponents. Needs to be more incisive if he wants to keep Dele Alli and Lucas Moura (who were benched) out of the team.
MF: Son Heung-Min, 5 -- Feeding off scraps as Spurs looked to counter, and failed to make the most of a couple of promising positions when he had options either side of him. Should have hit the target but kicked at fresh air rather then the ball from six yards out, and was replaced by Lucas Moura for the final 18 minutes.
FW: Harry Kane, 5 -- Struggled to get himself in the game against a high-energy Brighton side. An impossible job for the Spurs No. 10 when service is this poor, but should have done better when he skewed high and wide from 10 yards out in the final 20 minutes.
Substitutes
Paulo Gazzaniga, 5 -- Pressed into action off the bench after three minutes, he made a good save from point blank range to deny Connolly but could do nothing about the follow up to make it 2-0 just after the half-hour.
Harry Winks, 5 -- Brought on to give Spurs some composure in the heart of the midfield but he too was guilty of loose passing.
Lucas Moura, N/A -- The game was long gone by the time the Brazilian arrived, but he was more threatening in his short time on the pitch than the rest of his team combined.