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Just over the line

There was a certain irony in the fact that both of Tottenham's goals were beautiful strikes because once again this was an ugly performance from the hosts.

Spurs are grinding out results against teams they would be expected to breeze past in any other season but the points on the board are all that matter right now, particularly with Chelsea stuttering and stumbling all over the place against the same kind of sides.

Jose Mourinho explained ahead of the game that he could solve Tottenham's defensive issues very quickly but it would mean sacrificing something from their attacking play.

He looked to be doing that in the first half with what was a back five at times, with Ryan Sessegnon and Serge Aurier as wing-backs.

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Other than Harry Kane's ruled out 'goal', chances were at a premium at both ends of the pitch.

Ultimately it would be a harshly-awarded free-kick, after a Ezequiel Schelotto tumble to the ground following little to no contact, which would provide Brighton with the opportunity to score.

That goal forced Spurs to return in the second half to the more risky defensive set-up which helped them create chances and led to those superb Kane and Dele Alli strikes

"We had to go back to the less safer way of defending, which is the winger, Moura in this case, playing much more in the inside and Vertonghen pushing up, so we took these risks and the team did fine," explained Mourinho.

"Then there are situations in the game that are really difficult, their goal. How are we going to stop that fantastic header, that giant (Adam Webster)?

"In the last five minutes (Dan) Burn as a striker, what are you going to do? Win second balls because you cannot win first balls. Sometimes, always, the opposition has qualities, they have their ways of trying to make difficult things and it was difficult.

"But we could score more goals, we made chances, the goalkeeper made a couple of beautiful saves but in the end it was a great game."

Chelsea's humbling at home by Southampton means Spurs are back within three points of the top four.

Mourinho is yet to stamp his mark on this Tottenham side. He believes it will come once he's had more full weeks to work with them next month.

At the moment it's still a real work in progress, the early attacking thrilling displays now confined to mere moments and the team still leaking goals in every game bar the win against Burnley.

Thankfully for Mourinho, there's still enough spirit to provide comebacks like this one and Dele Alli just keeps scoring, with four goals and three assists in his last seven games under Mourinho.

His winning goal was an instinctively clever finish over the out of position goalkeeper and into the far corner.

It ensured that Spurs have won on December 26th for 14 consecutive years and Mourinho has still never lost a Boxing Day match since arriving in England.

Now the Spurs boss needs to ensure his team doesn't need to rely solely on individual excellence to win matches against bottom half sides.

(Image: TOLGA AKMEN/AFP via Getty Images)

Harry Kane's timely reminder

Harry Kane will not have enjoyed this season despite his haul of goals - 16 in 23 games for Spurs and 10 in six for England.

He's had less service than in any campaign in recent yearse and he's had to scrap for most of his chances himself.

His goal against Brighton was another example of that, seizing on to a loose ball that deflected into his path after some battling work by Lucas Moura.

Even though his first shot was saved by Seagulls keeper Mat Ryan, he buried the follow-up with an expertly taken half-volley.

He had already been denied a goal by another one of those ridiculously tight offside VAR decisions that is still so dubious based on when the image was actually taken.

Kane eventually found his customary Boxing Day goal though and you can only imagine how many goals he would score in a team creating chances aplenty for him from the wings or through the middle as Spurs were a couple of seasons ago.

What was more impressive than even his finish on Thursday afternoon though was his hold-up play and his battling in the driving rain.

Kane has cut a frustrated figure at times this season, not quite leading from the front as the armband demands when things have gone against Spurs and himself.

This was not one of those days. He was a constant menace to the Brighton backline, often winning balls back that he appeared to have lost.

He ended the match completely spent from his endeavours, typified by one late surge up the pitch amid the showers, somehow managing to stay on his feet and keep the ball away from the visitors' clutches.

"When I was not his coach I was always saying that he's the kind of striker who is always fantastic even when he's not scoring," said Mourinho.

"There are so many top scorers in the world who score so many goals but the day they don't score their performance is always poor because they give nothing.

"This is the guy who if he doesn't score his performance is good. He presses, he recovers balls, he holds the ball, he assists, he drops back.

"When Dele Alli loses position he covers the position in the defensive organisation. He's fantastic. So of course two great goals, of course the first one I repeat is correct decision by the VAR but the action, the movement, the strike is brilliant. The goal fantastic and important but his work was absolutely phenomenal."

Spurs will need to cryogenically freeze Kane for the next 48 hours as they simply cannot do without him at Carrow Road.

(Image: Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)

Praise the lord for the playmakers

Just when the Tottenham performance needed a spark, enter stage left Giovani Lo Celso and Christian Eriksen.

Lo Celso's mere presence on the touchline seemed to wake Spurs up, Kane burying his equaliser as the Argentine waited to come on.

When he actually entered the fray, Lo Celso looked like a man desperate to show everyone what he can do again.

His performance in Munich had been a disappointment and he has struggled to convince Mourinho that he can play his part in his regeneration of Tottenham in recent weeks.

Against Brighton he finally got some minutes in the Premier League and accentuated his positives once again.

He marked his first minute on the pitch with a crunching tackle to win the ball back and he was everywhere on the turf, looking to play one-twos and thread through balls to the attacking players or spread the ball out wide to stretch Brighton.

When Eriksen came on, Lo Celso moved back into a deeper role to replace Winks, which he impressed in as well, allowing the Dane to take on the more attacking duties and even more importantly allowing Dele Alli to simply concentrate on getting into the Brighton box.

He was able to do that to devastating effect for the winner, the goal coming from a perfect pass from Eriksen into the path of Aurier.

Between them Lo Celso and Eriksen played 30 of their combined 36 passes forward with 20 of them coming in the final third.

Spurs under Mourinho have been screaming out for a playmaker and both players showed how much better the team looks with one, or even two.

"I think Gio and Eriksen they gave us a little bit more ball possession and touch," admitted the Tottenham head coach afterwards.

Eriksen's future appears to be set and once again Mourinho all but confirmed the departure of a player who has not started one Premier League game for him.

"I know his future or I think I know his future. His communication with me is completely open and honest and we trust each other," he said.

"I know his future but I'm not going to be the one to speak about his future. It has to be him to speak about his future, when he makes the decision to speak about his future. Not me.

"My decision is he wants to help us, that's the reason why when I am in trouble, when I need a player with his qualities, I play him. And he was important today. Harry had a yellow card, we needed freshness, vision, fast passing and he was there for us. I'm pleased."

That Mourinho will not start him says it all and suggests Spurs expect to sell him in January, which opens up various permutations over how the club will replace him in the weeks ahead. They will need another playmaker to complement Lo Celso.

(Image: Tottenham Hotspur FC/Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images)

The task ahead in caging the Canaries

Mourinho will have to make changes for Saturday. The festive fixture calendar requires it.

"I cannot imagine these boys, how they can play in 48 hours. If you go to control the distances they run, the intensity, the breaks, if you are going to control that and if we are going to tell anyone who understands physiology, it is a crime that they are going to play football again on the 28th," he said.

"It is against every rule of physiology, biology, biochemistry, every rule, but that is the way it is, even with three guys suspended.

"I think from the three two of them are unfair, Sonny unfair, Winks unfair, I can only say Sissoko had a reason for the fifth yellow card. We have to go."

With Winks and Sissoko suspended, the Spurs boss was asked whether it was an opportunity to try something new in midfield.

"I have to!" he exclaimed in response.

Lo Celso could well have done enough to earn himself a first Premier League start under the head coach while Mourinho's decision over Eriksen will reveal plenty about just how soon the Dane will be walking out of the exit door.

The central midfield has to change due to those suspensions while the defence has racked up the minutes and the full-backs and at least one centre-back could change.

Juan Foyth is likely to come into the starting line-up. Kyle Walker-Peters and Danny Rose could also although they were both absent from the training session which took place on the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium pitch after the game.

Teenagers Troy Parrott and Oliver Skipp could also get minutes at some point while defenders Japhet Tanganga and Dennis Cirkin took part in the session, with the former having been on the bench for the win against Brighton.

Dele Alli looked shattered and limping at the end of the game while Erik Lamela might not yet be ready to start which could open up another opportunity for Ryan Sessegnon, who was hampered somewhat by his defensive role against Brighton.

Norwich will present a tough challenge, particularly at home, but they will also have been mentally hurt by their defeat at fellow promoted side Aston Villa despite all their efforts and chances created.

The Canaries lie bottom of the Premier League and have won just one match since their stunning home victory against Manchester City in September.

However, that win over Pep Guardiola's men shows exactly why Tottenham cannot go into this match with any overconfidence, particularly with the way they have been playing themselves and the changes they will have to make.

(Image: Tottenham Hotspur FC/Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images)

Jose Mourinho's clear message to Tanguy Ndombele

There is still one topic left to cover and it is the situation brewing between Tanguy Ndombele and Jose Mourinho.

This last subject is a lengthy one to tackle and these Tottenham talking points are already pretty long so we completely understand if you've already read more than enough about the club for now.

However, if you do still want to read about the young French midfielder and the Spurs boss and what happened on and off the pitch yesterday between the two of them, then you can read that in a separate, in-depth piece by heading here.

The choice is yours.