LONDON (AP) — Harry Kane scored his 23rd English Premier League goal to earn Tottenham a 2-1 win over top-four rival Brighton on Saturday in a match that saw both managers sent off after a touchline scuffle.
Tottenham's Cristian Stellini and Brighton's Roberto De Zerbi — both Italians — were dismissed from the dugouts and escorted down the tunnel by the time Kane ran onto a cutback from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and found the corner of the net with a fierce drive in the 79th minute.
Kane, England's captain, has scored in six straight games for club and country, and is seven behind Manchester City's Erling Haaland in the race to be top scorer in the league. Haaland scored twice against Southampton later Saturday.
Son Heung-min gave Tottenham the lead in the 10th minute with a curler into the top corner for his 100th league goal and Lewis Dunk equalized with a header from a corner in the 34th.
Kaoru Mitoma and Alexis Mac Allister had goals disallowed for Brighton for handball.
Tottenham stayed in fifth place, three points behind both third-placed Newcastle and fourth-placed Manchester United having played one game more.
De Zerbi and Stellini were involved in a heated exchange before kickoff, with De Zerbi seen pointing animatedly at his fellow Italian. Then, during the match, there was a melee between both sets of coaches and, although Stellini stayed out of the action, he was sent off for failing to keep his staff under control.
De Zerbi got a red card for being in the thick of it
“I am used always to respecting everyone inside of the pitch and outside of the pitch,” De Zerbi said, while declining to reveal the exact reason for his irritation with Stellini.
“I don’t like it when people don’t respect me, but there are normal situations in football. It is personal things, no? I always respect everyone, especially the coaches. And I can answer for me, not for him. It was a personal situation and I told him what was my opinion, my idea."
Stellini, who is in interim control of Tottenham following the firing of Antonio Conte last weekend, said “What happens on the pitch, stays on the pitch.
“In that moment for me, I was focused on the players," he said. "I wanted to speak to the players and I lose my focus on the bench.
"This is the rule. I have to respect the rule, but I think also if you look at what happened, I was polite and calm.”
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