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José Mourinho praised Gareth Bale’s patience in waiting for his chance to shine after coming off the bench to score the 2-1 winning goal over Brighton that led Spurs to second place in the Premier League. Bale has yet to start in the league during his second spell at the club that set a world record for Real Madrid in 2013. But the 31-year-old proved his cruelty in front of goal with a powerful header in the 17th minute. . From time to time to ensure that Mourinho’s men were not wrong in a controversial match at Tottenham Hotspur’s stadium.
“Gareth Bale is very stable, very mature, he knows his body better than anyone,” Mourinho said. “We know where we want to go and he is with us on that journey.”
The intervention of the Welshman calmed the furor over Brighton’s draw, scored by Tariq Lamptey.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg seemed clearly to have been fouled by Solly March before the ball passed to Lamptey, who produced a clinical shot in the far corner for his first goal for the club.
However, referee Graham Scott upheld his original decision not to award a Tottenham free kick after reviewing the incident on the pitch monitor.
“Probably the referee should go to the press conference and explain. He had time to go to the screen so that only he can explain why it is a goal,” added Mourinho.
The draw balanced out dubious decisions as Spurs led at halftime thanks to Harry Kane’s penalty in the first half, while Brighton was denied a penalty.
Kane was attacked by his former England teammate Adam Lallana, but after Scott initially conceded a free kick on the edge of the box, he was told by the VAR that the foul was committed inside the box.
There was less doubt about the result of the penalty shot, as Kane in form coldly delivered his 199th goal for Tottenham.
It was a familiar story for Brighton as their winless streak spanned six games despite enjoying the best of the game for long periods.
Graham Potter couldn’t believe his luck when a jerk on Leandro Trossard by Matt Doherty was not punished with a penalty on the other end.
Mourinho was then left cursing the referees, as for the first time in the Premier League this season a referee stayed on his opening call after seeing replay of an incident for Brighton’s draw.
Erik Lamela fired a long-range effort from the post when the Spurs were suddenly driven to search for a winner.
The Argentine was replaced by Bale with 20 minutes remaining and the substitute took just three minutes to make his impact when he found a perfect cross from his former Madrid teammate Sergio Reguilon.
“It’s a great feeling,” Bale said. “I just want to come in and make an impact on the team.
“Everyone talks about the individual game, but I have always said that I am a team player. The most important thing is the group.”
The Spurs could have been at the top of the table had they not blown four points in the closing seconds of their last two league games at home against Newcastle and West Ham.
This time they held out to move within two points of Liverpool on top, but both Mourinho and Bale downplayed talks of a title challenge.
“We know we shouldn’t get carried away, there are a lot of great teams,” Bale said.
Mourinho, meanwhile, praised the depth of the English top flight with just three points separating Spurs from Newcastle in 11th place.
Promoted
“In 2004, when I came to England, there were certain games that the best teams knew were three points, not anymore,” added Mourinho.
“Now this is the best league in the world, not just by the top six, for all teams. The Premier League, everyone is close. If we drop two points we can be seventh, eighth ninth. The Premier League is beautiful. “
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