Harry Kane 7, Gareth Bale 7; Adam Lallana 7: Tottenham v Brighton player ratings

Bale off the bench to score the winner for Spurs

TOTTENHAM RATINGS: Hugo Lloris, 6 – The Frenchman had little to do until he collected a Dan Burn header on the stroke of half-time. He could do little about Lamptey’s finish which went across his body to his right. AP

Matt Doherty, 6 – A frustrating evening for the defender who, though he looked solid at the back, offered very little going forward and gave the ball away too cheaply too often. Getty

Toby Alderweireld 7 – Another solid evening’s work for the Belgian, who didn’t look flustered despite Brighton looking the better side at times. It was his sumptuous 40-yard cross-field pass that set Reguilon free for Tottenham’s second goal. PA

Eric Dier, 5 – Another 90 minutes in the heart of Tottenham’s defence, and there was a nervous moment when it looked as though his flailing arms might have given away a penalty in the second half. AFP

Sergio Reguilon, 7 – Tottenham’s new signing had the first shot of the game. He showed neat footwork to turn and force Sanchez into a simple save. He had his hands full with Tariq Lamptey when the Brighton defender overlapped, but at the other end he delivered the perfect cross on his right foot for Bale to give Spurs the lead. Reuters

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, 7 – Looked solid as Brighton grew into the game. He was strong in the tackle and displayed excellent positional play and did all of Tottenham’s dirty work. AP

Moussa Sissoko, 6 – Gave the ball away too often, and sometimes in dangerous positions, but he was one of Tottenham’s better players. Covered a lot of ground and provided a good shield for the back four. AP

Tanguy Ndombele, 5 – Got booked early on and trod a pretty thing line for the rest of the first half. Showed some neat touches throughout, but just lacked quality in possession. PA

Erik Lamela, 6 – The Frenchman enjoyed a lively start and delivered a dangerous cross that was nicked off Kane’s toe at the back post. He hit the post in the second half before being replaced by Gareth Bale. AP

Heung-Min Son, 5 –After an electric start, in which he played a ludicrous defence-splitting pass to release Erik Lamela in the opening minutes and supplied a cross that Bissouma failed to clear for Tottenham’s opener, he looked way off his usual high standards. AP

Harry Kane, 7 – A controversial night for the England skipper, who was bundled over just inside the area and recovered to slot home an impeccable penalty for his sixth of the season. Kane went to ground on several occasions, possibly a result of being asked to control long balls from defence. He came close to a second goal, but his touch let him down and he struck the post from close range. AP

SUBS: Giovani Lo Celso (Ndombele, 64) 5 – Was brought on to control the tempo in midfield and though he didn’t manage it, he played his part in the victory. AP

Gareth Bale (Lamela, 70) 7 – His first touch was to flick the ball on to Kane, who should have done better with the goal at his mercy. His second touch was to head home from Reguilon’s cross at the near post. Game changer. AP

Ben Davies (Son, 85) n/a – Presumably brought on to take the sting out of the game and add a further defensive body, he did little to influence the game. AP

BRIGHTON RATINGS: Robert Sanchez, 6 – Made his league debut and saved comfortably early on when he pushed the ball over the bar from Reguilon. Was sometimes casual on the ball, but he made a great reaction save midway through the second half from his own player. PA

Tariq Lamptey, 8 – The right-back was once again instrumental in Brighton’s attacking play. He was often isolated, but he was a constant threat on Brighton’s right-hand side. His neat finish pulled Brighton level, but he had to limp off inside the last 15 minutes. EPA

Ben White, 6 – The sought-after defender was asked to play in a defensive midfield role and though he looked a bit lost at times, he performed admirably, particularly when going forward. Showed a good range of passing. Reuters

Adam Webster, 5 – Good near-post clearance in the opening exchanges and an excellent tackle on Son after half-time, even though it was adjudged to have been a foul. Came close with a header midway through the second half too. Unfortunately, he was nowhere near Bale when the Welshman equalised. EPA

Yves Bissouma, 6 – He couldn’t clear the ball, and it was from his failed clearance that Spurs won the penalty that gave the home side the lead. After that, Bissouma didn’t stop running. AP

Leandro Trossard, 6 – Thought he had grounds for a penalty, but VAR disagreed. A solid performance from the Belgian, he had a shot before half-time, but it was blocked.

Pascal Gross, 7 – Was one of Brighton’s most effective players, attempting more passes in the final third than any of his teammates and winning the ball back when Tottenham were profligate in possession. Had to fill in at right-back after Lamptey limped off. AP

Adam Lallana, 7 – Was adjudged to have fouled Harry Kane for Spurs’ opener, though on first glimpse it looked to be on the edge of the area, and a case of Kane backing into him. Showed neat touches throughout and was a class act. Reuters

Solly March, 5 – The forward payed a huge part in Brighton’s equaliser, though it looked as if his challenge on Hojbjerg in the build-up was a foul. VAR ruled otherwise, and the goal stood, but he soon picked up a knock thereafter after rolling his ankle.

Dan Burn, 5 – Threatened with a header before giving the ball away, and then a free-kick straight after, in a dangerous position on the stroke of half-time. Not the best performance from the left-back. AP

Joel Veltman, 5 – Was, at times, a driving force for Brighton when he came out of the back with the ball at his feet, though he didn’t always know what to do with it when he got into Tottenham’s half. Almost scored an own goal but for a wonderful save from Sanchez. PA

Danny Welbeck (Trossard, 74) n/a – The forward returned to the scene of the injury that kept him out last season. He showed good sharpness when hunting the ball down. EPA

Mac Allister (Lamptey, 79) n/a – Could do little to help Brighton find an equaliser in the last ten minutes. Bernardo (March, 65) 5 – Had little space to manoeuvre when he came on and couldn’t influence the game. AFP

Jose Mourinho praised Gareth Bale's patience after coming off the bench to score the winner in a 2-1 victory over Brighton that lifted Spurs up to second in the Premier League.

Bale is yet to start in the league during his second spell at the club he left for a world record fee to join Real Madrid in 2013.

But the 31-year-old showed his ruthlessness in front of goal remains with a powerful header 17 minutes from time to ensure Mourinho's men did not slip up in a controversial encounter at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium.

"Gareth Bale is very stable, very mature, he knows his body better than anyone," said Mourinho. "We know where we want to go and he's with us on that journey."

The Welshman's intervention lessened the furore over Brighton's equaliser, scored by Tariq Lamptey.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg looked to have been clearly fouled by Solly March before the ball was worked to Lamptey, who produced a clinical finish into the far corner for his first goal for the club.

However, referee Graham Scott stood by his original decision not to award a Tottenham free-kick after reviewing the incident on the pitchside monitor.

"Probably the referee should go to the press conference and explain. He had time to go to the screen so only he can explain why it is a goal," added Mourinho.

The equaliser balanced up the dubious calls as Spurs led at half-time thanks to Harry Kane's first-half penalty, while Brighton were denied a spot-kick.

Kane was bundled over by former England teammate Adam Lallana, but after Scott initially awarded a free-kick on the edge of the box, he was instructed by VAR that the foul took place inside the box.

There was less doubt over the result of the spot-kick as the in-form Kane coolly dispatched his 199th Tottenham goal.

It was a familiar story for Brighton as their winless run stretched to six games despite going on to enjoy the better of the game for long spells.