Considering we are in the midst of the highest-scoring Premier League season of all time – in terms of goals per game (3.09) – it is somewhat surprising that Brighton & Hove Albion's victory over Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday is the first of 4 :2 result was.
But that final result probably doesn't reflect Brighton's dominance. Tottenham's goals were a late consolation in the final 10 minutes of normal time and while Brighton scored four goals, they also hit a post with a curler from James Milner. This was an excellent, confident performance from Roberto De Zerbi's team, who, as always, had a clever plan and implemented it well.
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De Zerbi's system was basically a midfield diamond. Danny Welbeck joined Joao Pedro up front, with Facundo Buonanotte in the No.10 position, and then Milner and Pascal Gross took cover either side of Billy Gilmour.
This shape made it easier for Brighton to press when Ange Postecoglou's guests wanted to play from the back.
Both Joao Pedro and Welbeck are hard-working center forwards who are also comfortable on the wings. Therefore, they contented themselves with following Emerson Royal and Ben Davies, full-backs who were deployed as makeshift centre-backs due to injuries, as they separated towards the flanks.
In this situation, Tottenham usually place one of their central midfielders in the middle of the defense, and in this system, Buonanotte was in the right position to follow Pape Matar Sarr. Brighton therefore often pushed three against three.
Spurs tried to get around this problem by sending their other central midfielder, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, into defense as well. But that caused Gross to step forward and silence him.
Therefore, it often ended up in the following situation: four against four, with the center forwards chasing the center backs on the touchline and the central midfielders facing off against the central midfielders.
Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, usually confident with his ball distribution, was forced into longer passes than we are used to from him and often conceded possession. That diagonal attempt from Son Heung-min, for example, was heavily overtaken and meant Brighton could start building up play again.
Gross' responsibility to move forward and eliminate one of the central midfielders meant that Dejan Kulusevski, playing as Tottenham's No. 10 in a 4-2-3-1, often dropped into this zone to get his feet Offering the possibility of a forward pass.
This could have caused problems for Brighton, but they responded aggressively, with Jan Paul van Hecke coming from his centre-back position and sticking close to Kulusevski. This happened in the first few seconds…
…again after four minutes…
…and after 16 minutes the same thing happened.
Kulusevski accelerates his pass, Hojbjerg cannot control it…
…the ball bounces well for Gilmour and Brighton is in attack…
…with Joao Pedro cutting inside and scoring a decent shot on goal.
In the first half, Tottenham's build-up play didn't work and Brighton stole the ball early and created chances.
Brighton also dropped a midfielder into the defensive line to help them build play, but they did it in a different way.
Gross moved from his role in right midfield to right-back to receive a pass, while actual right-back Jack Hinshelwood pushed further up the field. Brighton generally tried to play on the right and although this was not always entirely successful and the ball changed hands several times, Tottenham's pressing was disjointed.
When in possession, Brighton switched from a diamond to a 3-1-6 system.
Left-back Igor Julio moved up as the third central defender, the players on the flanks of the diamond – Milner and Gross – moved into the channels, while Hinshelwood also moved up to the sixth attacker. You can't quite see him in the picture below – his approximate position is highlighted in the bottom right corner – but that was often their shape in possession.
Here is an example of Brighton attacking with a front five at the start.
Welbeck has the ball on the left, with Gilmour inside, having briefly swapped roles with Milner and three others in the middle. Hinshelwood at the bottom of the screen is not involved in this change – but, ominously for the Spurs, there is space for him to exploit.
And here is an almost identical situation six minutes later that led to the opening goal.
It is Joao Pedro who has the ball on the left and this time Hinshelwood pushed forward and became the sixth attacker. To be fair, Tottenham actually have six players in their defensive line too, but they inevitably get pulled towards the ball. Gross calls for a cross into the middle, but the dangerous men are the two teammates who are closer to the camera.
The goal is actually quite simple: Joao Pedro cuts inside, overcomes a few tackles in the slalom and then plays the ball to Hinshelwood. It was a center forward supporting a right-back. Or, in another sense, it was the outside left player defending the outside right on opposite sides of a six-man attack.
Hinshelwood's shot is unusual – it hammered high over Vicario rather than either side of him, and the young right-back looked a little surprised when the ball went into the goal.
From there the floodgates opened.
The following goals were not entirely interesting from a tactical point of view – two penalties from Joao Pedro and an excellent long-range effort from Pervis Estupinan in his long-awaited return from injury.
The selection of the other “goals” actually went unacknowledged as Welbeck crossed back for Buonanotte’s run and he finished with a deft half-volley. He had made his run too early and was offside, but it was another example of how many Brighton players got into the attack.
Although Gross is a little deeper and doesn't sprint fast enough to be a real participant, it's the same six players in attack here as on Hinshelwood's goal.
The two late concessions were significant. Not only have they reduced Brighton's lead to victory, but they also mean they still haven't conceded a goal this season, which is quite a failure considering they're halfway through the season.
But that's part of De Zerbi's calculation: his system is based on high risk, high pressing and, in this case, six attackers high up the pitch.
If everything comes together, Brighton can outdo anyone.
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Tottenham's struggles are a reminder that this squad is not yet ready for 'Angeball'.
(Photo: Gareth Fuller/PA Images via Getty Images)