Spurs manager Jose Mourinho to go 'full power' in the Europa League with Dele Alli facing exile again

English attacker might not even make the squad for Thursday's match against Ludogorets

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

It was not just social distancing, you suspect, that made Jose Mourinho sit alone. Glasses around his neck, mask on his face, surrounded by empty seats on the coach, he was a study in miserable isolation.

“Bad performances deserve bad results,” was his blunt caption on the picture on his Instagram account. “Hope everyone in this bus is as upset as I am.”

That was a week ago. Tottenham had lost to Antwerp. "My future choices will be easy," said Mourinho. It felt a warning. Six days on, he blamed himself instead. "I don't think against Antwerp it was the players, it was the attitude and the way we faced the game," he said.

Thursday provides the first real examination of those choices. "We will go full power," pledged a manager who summoned some of his premier players as substitutes in Belgium, where Harry Kane, Heung-Min Son and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg all made cameos. They were restored for Sunday's win over Brighton.

Tottenham are in Bulgaria, facing Ludogorets in a match that assumes added importance for two reasons. A group also including LASK Linz looks very winnable but a second successive loss would pose problems.

“We cannot come back with a defeat or it will be difficult for the rest of the competition,” said Moussa Sissoko. “We didn’t play well last week. This was not acceptable.”

Mourinho’s selections are instructive: he vowed to parachute his talismen in to try and get a response, and a first-choice like Sissoko seems set to be involved. It is bad news for some understudies and a question of which fringe figures are omitted.

Mourinho can be the master of the snub. He is also in a position of rare luxury. The six additions Tottenham made in an unexpectedly ambitious summer spending spree gives him a sizeable, quality squad, the luxury of two players for every position and arguably the best second 11 in England.

Mourinho, who said he wished he could have made 11 changes at half-time last week, actually can when selecting his side.

Joe Rodon is ineligible and Serge Aurier, Sergio Reguilon and Erik Lamela injured but that still leaves an albeit imbalanced 11 of Joe Hart, Davinson Sanchez, Japhet Tanganga, Ben Davies, Gareth Bale, Giovani Lo Celso, Harry Winks, Dele Alli, Lucas Moura, Steven Bergwijn and Carlos Vinicius who did not begin against Brighton.

Mourinho has guaranteed that Bale, fresh from the first goal of his second spell on Sunday, will start. Others may be spectators. Alli, Bergwijn, Lo Celso and Vinicius were the quartet hauled off at half-time in Antwerp. The Argentinian was forgiven enough to be used as a replacement against Brighton; the other three were not even on the bench.

As ever, there is a particular focus on Alli. The Englishman has started three games this season; Mourinho removed him at the break in two and after an hour in the other. And yet there came a reminder that a player whose European exploits included a match-winning double against Real Madrid was regarded among the great talents of his generation.

Mauricio Pochettino made an unprompted comparison with two of his former team-mates, Diego Maradona and Ronaldinho, when saying Alli had a similar “charisma.” It was something Mourinho initially identified and tapped into it.

A subsequent fall from grace has been swift and, if he can no longer get into the Europa League side, it would indicate how far he has fallen.

Perhaps Mourinho has written Alli off. Vinicius, a recent arrival for a role Mourinho had targeted, as Kane’s back-up, is likelier to be afforded a reprieve. But Mourinho’s eloquence can spread from the press conference to social media to the teamsheet.