Harry Kane ended his mini goal drought to help Tottenham earn a much-needed 2-1 win over Brighton at the Amex Stadium.
After four games without scoring for club and country, Kane gave Spurs the lead from the penalty spot (42) after Glenn Murray had handled while blocking a free-kick.
Despite Brighton finding their rhythm second half, substitute Erik Lamela made it 2-0 with a fine sweeping finish (76) after starting a move from deep, before Anthony Knockaert made for a nervy ending with a fine finish in stoppage time (90+3).
After three straight defeats, the win leaves Spurs in fifth, while Brighton are seven points behind in 13th as they lost at home in the league for the first time since March.
Mat Ryan was forced into a fine reflex save early on from point-blank range as Toby Alderweireld’s header deflected off Gaetan Bong, and though Spurs had 79 per cent of the ball first half, they did not make it count until the closing stages.
Kieran Trippier’s free-kick was blocked by Murray’s hand in the wall, a superb spot from referee Chris Kavanagh and his team, allowing Kane to step up and send Ryan the wrong way.
Christian Eriksen’s long-range effort went just wide after the break, but Brighton eventually got going, and should have scored when Knockaert’s weak shot from eight yards was collected by Paulo Gazzaniga after Beram Kayal had found him.
But Spurs made it 2-0 with a superb move as Lamela broke free to feed Lucas Moura on the left, who in turn slipped in Danny Rose down the left flank. Lamela continued his run into the box, and latched onto Rose’s centre to sweep home from 12 yards.
Kane shrugged off talk of fatigue by playing all 90 minutes on the south coast, and nearly netted again late on as he piled into the box only for Ryan to save when one-on-one.
Knockaert’s fine finish cutting in from the right on his left foot created a nervous end, before Gazzaniga saved and held well from the same man’s 20-yard effort a moment later.
Man of the match – Mousa Dembele
So calm and collected on the ball, Dembele made Spurs tick on Saturday evening on a zippy surface. He made 70 passes at a staggering 97.1 per cent accuracy, while also winning 85 per cent of his duels.
Alongside the equally-impressive Eric Dier, Dembele did his defensive work too, making three tackles, two clearances and winning the ball back four times. A superb performance from the Belgian.