Caltex Socceroos Mat Ryan and Aaron Mooy played key roles as Brighton & Hove Albion tore apart Tottenham Hotspur in a 3-0 victory.
The Seagulls added to Spurs’ recent woes at the AMEX Stadium with youngster Aaron Connolly scoring a double after Neal Maupay opened the scoring.
Graham Potters’ men got off to a dream start after a disastrous error from Hugo Lloris handed French forward Maupay the simplest of finishes before the Spurs goalkeeper was carried off with a dislocated shoulder following his fall.
After Ryan saved Christian Eriksen’s effort from distance, Spurs’ back-up gloveman Paulo Gazzaniga was unable to parry Connolly’s 32nd-minute flick to safety and the Irish teenager opened his Premier League account on the rebound.
Mooy delivered a classy performance on the left of Brighton’s midfield four as the home side shut down Mauricio Pochettino’s 2018/19 UEFA Champions League finalists to go into the sheds 2-0 at the interval.
Connolly doubled his tally with a vicious strike on 65 minutes as Mooy led the team in touches (88) and dribbles (three) as Brighton restricted the North London side to minimal opportunities.
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The 29-year-old Caltex Socceroos midfielder made the most tackle attempts in the match (eight) and won the joint most (five) alongside Tottenham’s Toby Alderweireld. He also logged four interceptions and a solid 72% pass completion.
Ryan was called upon in the closing stages to block Lucas Moura’s attempt on the edge of the six yard box, and then the Aussie number one dived full-length to palm away the Brazilian substitute’s firm strike from 20 yards.
"Overall I was really, really happy with the performance. Great personality on the pitch, we attacked well, defended well,” said Potter.
"When we made mistakes we recovered, we created chances and played on the front foot as much as we could."
"I am delighted for the players, we have worked really hard and haven't got the results we could have got but that is life in the Premier League. The margins are small."
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