No De Zerbi as Brighton return to the scene of Spurs robbery
Criminals will often return to the scene of their misdemeanour for the purpose of reliving the sensations they felt carrying out their crime. Makes you wonder how Tottenham fans will feel this afternoon when Spurs host Brighton, doesn’t it?
The Seagulls visit to North London last season was one of the most farcical games in terms of refereeing on the pitch and VAR that Brighton were involved in. And that is saying something in a campaign where Roberto De Zerbi received at least once PGMOL apology per month.
Two Albion goals were disallowed for handball. The first when Kaoru Mitoma was judged to have controlled with his upper arm before converting. The second when a Danny Welbeck distance drive brushed the arm of Alexis Mac Allister on its way in.
Brighton were also denied a stonewall penalty when Mitoma went down under a challenge from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.
Had none of those questionable decisions been made, the Albion score two more times and potentially a third if Mac Allister converts the spot kick for the foul on Mitoma. Spurs 2-1 Brighton instead becomes Spurs 2-4 Brighton.
Had the game taken place on Football Manager or EA Sports FC using FC accounts, then you might have expected the usually fiery Roberto De Zerbi to rage quit.
De Zerbi though was surprisingly calm about it all, which made it even more of a shock when he was shown a red card after a clash between the two benches.
Whilst coaches from both sides came together, De Zerbi stood on the periphery before trying to calm some of his own members of staff.
“Don’t do it Gregg, think of a perfectly cooked beef brisket,” De Zerbi could be seen whispering in the ear of Vincenzo Teresa as everyone’s favourite Gregg Wallace look-a-like became increasingly flustered, like someone had just served him pink and green and food in the MasterChef kitchen.
De Zerbi was rewarded for his role as peacemaker by Stuart Attwell sending him to the stands, along with Spurs interim head coach Cristian Stellini.
Nothing could explain the decision other than some sort of vendetta against De Zerbi as, for once, the Albion boss had done nothing wrong.
Little wonder De Zerbi has chosen to miss this return visit to Spurs. Facing a ban from the bench anyway, De Zerbi opted to undergo what has been described as an invasive dental procedure which means he will be out-of-action for a few days either side of the Tottenham game.
One can only imagine De Zerbi pacing up and down in his living room at home, screaming at a live stream, dosed up on painkillers whilst only able to eat soup and scrambled egg. What a DeZerbiCam that would make for on the official Albion social media channels.
With De Zerbi absent, suave and sophisticated assistant boss Andrea Maldera takes charge. The impressive frequency with which De Zerbi has racked up touchlines bans in his 16 months at Brighton means Maldera is no stranger to leading the team.
His most notable game at the helm came when Brighton hammered West Ham United 4-0 at the Amex last March. Maldera also led the Albion in the 5-0 FA Cup quarter final victory over Grimsby Town.
He cut a very jolly figure when taking De Zerbi’s normal pre-game press conference too, even with the bad news that Joao Pedro is out for an indefinite period with a hamstring injury.
Brighton’s leading scorer has undergone a scan with the seriousness of the issue and a timeframe on his return unknown until the results are back.
Losing a player who has scored 19 goals before the middle of February is obviously a severe blow. But in some ways, Spurs is a decent game for Brighton to be without their leading scorer.
You want Pedro in tight matches for him to put away the few opportunities which are made. A clash with a Tottenham side committed to attacking football no matter what under Ange Postecoglou is one in which there are likely be plenty of chances for whoever makes up the Brighton attack in Pedro’s absence.
We saw that at the Amex back in December. Spurs stuck to their principles of a ridiculous high line. The Albion were constantly able to breach it, racking up four goals in a little over an hour.
The final 10 minutes, however, belonged to the visitors. They belatedly showed they could score almost at will, adding two quickfire efforts to turn what had looked like a comfortable Brighton victory into a nervy finish before the full time whistle blew on a 4-2 Albion win.
There is every chance this will be another high-scoring clash between two of the most entertaining teams in the Premier League.
No wonder Maldera was relaxed talking about the absence of Pedro. He instead highlighted the scoring ability of Danny Welbeck and Evan Ferguson, alongside the return from injury of Ansu Fati and Kaoru Mitoma from Asian Cup duty.
Brighton have another reason to travel to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with hope – no Harry Kane. The England captain absolutely loved scoring against the Albion.
Kane’s summer move to help Bayern Munich finish second in the Bundesliga means his annual goal is no longer on the cards.
With no Kane to face and the Seagulls on an almighty high after thrashing Crystal Palace 4-1 win last week, Maldera and his band of merry men should arrive in North London in confident mood.
Brighton are good enough to come away with Spurs with something to show for their efforts. The big question mark being will the officials behave themselves or will we see further evidence of obvious bias towards one of the European Super League Elite Six?
The incompetence of last time at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and a repeat of the crimes surely cannot happen again – can it?
