Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou was utterly shellshocked by his side’s second-half collapse against Brighton on Sunday evening.
Spurs looked in fine fettle at half-time after goals from Brennan Johnson and James Maddison put them in control at the Amex Stadium.
But Brighton came out of the traps with fire in their bellies and Tottenham could not handle it, crumbling in shock circumstances as the Seagulls rattled in three goals in just over 20 minutes.
The first came from a defensive mishap from Destiny Udogie, whose missed clearance allowed Yankuba Minteh all the time in the world to hammer one past Guglielmo Vicario in the 48th minute.
Ange Postcoglou could not believe his eyes as Tottenham collapsed
Postecoglou was seen shaking his head but there would be worse to come when 10 minutes later, Brighton scored the equaliser.
This time it came through summer signing Georginio Rutter, with Kaoru Mitoma feeding the former Leeds star who thumped it home.
Tottenham’s nightmare was realised when former Arsenal star Danny Welbeck completed the comeback after more shoddy defending as Rutter supplied the striker with a free header in the box.
As the Amex Stadium’s decibel level rose, Postecoglou fumed at his players while Tottenham fans are starting to turn on the Australian.
One fan said: “3 goals in 21 minutes and Postecoglou stood on the line changing f all. Clueless. Few wins had people fooled.”
Another wrote: “Postecoglu shaking his head when he does absolutely nothing defensively on the training ground.”
A third posted: “Those subs are shocking when he’s chasing the game. He’s an absolute clown #postecoglouout.”
This fan said: “It’s incredible how Postecoglou is so inept at reading matches. Still the same gameplan, even if that keeps being detrimental.
“Brighton got more and more space, first thing you do is find compactness again. But he’s stubborn and does not change.”
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Brighton managed a brilliant comeback against Tottenham
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More fumed, with one writing on social media: “Watch enough spurs games and you will know they need to score at least 3 if not 4 to get something from the game.
“That cannot be right and boils down to the manager and his system. I’ve been Ange out for months and months and every passing game confirms it for me.”
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Brighton were two goals down before their incredible comeback
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Postecoglou has already come under pressure this season after an iffy start that has included high-profile defeats to Arsenal and Newcastle.
However, a resounding 3-0 win over Manchester United had given fans hope that they were back on the right track.
But defeat to Brighton from such a commanding position has sent them back to square one – and back under pressure.