James Maddison hints at possible mentality issue after Brighton defeat – ‘We lost control’
James Maddison has made a big admission about Tottenham’s mentality after they suffered a morale-sapping defeat against Brighton on Sunday.
Game of two halves
Tottenham looked in complete control of the game in the first half and played with the kind of swagger that we have come to expect from them over recent weeks.
They raced to a 2-0 lead and even had opportunities to get another before the interval as Brighton looked vulnerable every time the away side went forward.
However, the roles were reversed in the second half, with Tottenham struggling to cope with wave after wave of attack from the home side after the interval.
The Seagulls managed to turn around the result with three quick-fire goals in just 18 minutes, leaving Ange Postecoglou’s men shell-shocked.
Maddison admits possible Spurs mentality issue
Maddison has confessed that Tottenham should have weathered the storm at the start of the second period. He added that he and his teammates should have coped better with the Brighton onslaught.
When asked if Spurs struggled mentally and got carried away after their first-half performance, the attacking midfielder told Sky Sports: “Yeah it could have been definitely. Brighton are a good side and have good players.
“But in adversity in the Premier League you’ve got to stay strong, you’ve got to weather the storm a little bit. The best teams stay strong in that moment and weather the storm – we definitely didn’t do that.”
Two steps back at Tottenham
Maddison acknowledged that the result comes as a bitter blow on the back of the great run that the side have been on over recent weeks.
When asked why Spurs could not respond after conceding the first goal, he said: “We couldn’t deal with the momentum shift.
“We lost control of the game when the first goal went in. We dealt with momentum poorly and couldn’t get any control of the game – when they were coming at us it felt like attack after attack.
“We couldn’t deal with it and they managed to score three goals. We have been on a good run, but it feels like a couple of steps back today. We were saying all the right things to not get complacent, but words mean nothing if you don’t go out and show it.”
The post James Maddison hints at possible mentality issue after Brighton defeat – ‘We lost control’ appeared first on Spurs Web.