Now in must-win territory in their bid to stave off a first relegation since 1976/77, the hosts had to start brightly against Brighton to get the crowd on side.
An underwhelming start, which saw them offer little in the final third, didn’t help on that front, but the game sprung into life shortly after as cracks started to appear for Spurs.
A deep free-kick was kept alive at the far post by Jack Hinshelwood, whose header back across goal was turned against his own post by Micky van de Ven before the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium collectively held its breath as the ball rolled across the line.
That proved to be a turning point for Spurs, who hit the front shortly before half time.
An inventive moment from Xavi Simons saw him dink the ball over the Brighton defence and Pedro Porro nipped in in front of Bart Verbruggen to head the hosts in front.
One goal very nearly became two for Roberto De Zerbi’s men almost immediately, as within two minutes of the restart, Simons hit the post before Porro’s follow-up forced Verbruggen into a stunning fingertip save to keep the deficit at one.
Yet in typical Spurs fashion in 2025/26, their advantage was wiped out before the break, and in some style too, as substitute Kaoru Mitoma planted a sumptuous left-footed volley into the roof of the net after Pascal Groß’ delivery found him unmarked at the far post.
That goal firmly changed the flow of the game, but the Seagulls were unable to make their pressure pay following the restart and were instead lucky not to fall behind when Simons saw his effort blocked midway through the second half, and Verburggen had to be alert to beat away João Palhinha’s effort on the follow-up.
It was becoming increasingly evident that Spurs were going to need a moment of divine intervention to claim the points, and Simons provided just that when he cut inside onto his favoured right foot on the edge of the area and unleashed a rocket which crashed in off the post.
Spurs had to dig deep in the closing stages, but they were hit with a crushing blow in the 95th minute when substitute Rutter was left unmarked in the area to sweep home an equaliser, which will undoubtedly have yielded loud cheers in Nottingham and East London as it ensured saw De Zerbi’s men remain in the bottom three with just five games remaining.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Xavi Simons (Tottenham Hotspur)