Antonio Conte trots out lame excuse as Tottenham lose ‘tactical game’ to Brighton

Tottenham boss Antonio Conte struggled to find reasons for his side’s performance after watching them go down 1-0 at home to Brighton.

Spurs began the day occupying fourth spot in the table and bossing their battle with Arsenal for a Champions League berth. But they failed to hit the heights as Graham Potter’s men picked up all three points in north London. It looked as though the sides would settle for a point apiece until Leandro Trossard struck late for the Seagulls.

The Belgium international found space in the area before shooting past Hugo Lloris. The home side were poor during the first 45 minutes and, despite rallying after the break, were second best.

Having gone seven league games without a victory, Albion have now claimed back-to-back wins. They took care of the Gunners 2-1 last time out before another profitable trip to the north of the capital.

Conte always felt it would be a tough encounter. And he was at a loss to explain why his charges were so poor.

“A difficult game, we knew this. I had seen them against Arsenal and we knew what could happen tactically. It was tactical game,” he told BT Sport.

“I think a draw would have been the more fair final result, but Brighton won the game, so they deserved to win.

“We started very slowly and in this type of game you have to move the ball more quickly. Maybe the weather… I want to find an excuse, but it was not a good game for us.”

There is still a long way to go in the fascinating race for fourth spot, something acknowledged by Eric Dier.

During a post-match interview with BT Sport, the Tottenham centre-back said: “We knew it was going to be tough and I don’t think we were right from the beginning. We struggled to create chances and conceded a sloppy goal.

“We