Son Heung-min scored his 100th Premier League goal and Harry Kane a second-half winner as Tottenham rode their luck to beat Brighton.
The visitors dominated large periods, and had two goals ruled out for handball, but the strikes from Spurs’ esteemed pair eased their recent struggles.
Son curled a superb 25-yard strike inside the far post after 10 minutes while Kane’s shot in the 79th minute deflected past Brighton keeper Jason Steele.
Lewis Dunk had earlier levelled in the first half for Brighton – heading in Solly March’s corner unchallenged at the back post – shortly after Kaoru Mitoma was judged to have controlled with his upper arm before converting.
The Seagulls had the ball in the net again in the second half but Danny Welbeck’s shot flicked Alexis Mac Allister’s arm on the way in and the goal was disallowed by the video assistant referee.
VAR also turned down strong penalty appeals from Brighton with the score 1-1 when Mitoma went down under a challenge from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.
The match became increasingly fractious and both managers – Brighton’s Roberto de Zerbi and Spurs interim Christian Stellini – were sent off in the second half after a melee between the two benches.
The win keeps Spurs within three points of the top four, although they have played a game more than fourth-placed Manchester United, while Brighton drop to seventh.
