Tottenham vs Brighton result: Player ratings as Harry Kane and Dele Alli spare Spurs in comeback victory

Man-for-man marking from the opening Premier League match on Boxing Day

Tottenham Hotspur were forced to dig deep to secure a comeback victory over Brighton and Hove Albion in the opening Premier League clash on Boxing Day, with Harry Kane and Dele Alli coming to the rescue to get Spurs back to winning ways.

Four days on from their defeat against Chelsea, Spurs were back in action at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as they welcomed the Seagulls to north London, but a noticeably flat start from the home side inevitably cost them.

Brighton went in front with just under 10 minutes remaining in the opening half after Harry Winks was judged to have fouled Ezekiel Schelotto, allowing Aaron Mooy to put the resulting free-kick onto the head of Adam Webster and into the back of the net.

The half-time break came at the right time for Spurs though, as Jose Mourinho managed to draw out the right response from his players with a notably improved display in the second half.

The equaliser came some eight minutes after the restart as Kane remained alert enough to finish from close range following Mathew Ryan’s save from the striker’s initial effort, before Alli produced a delightful finish from Serge Aurier’s delicate knock-back to loop the ball over Ryan’s head and put Spurs into the lead.

Tottenham managed to see out the victory, though they were lucky not to have Winks sent off when he avoided a second yellow card for a foul on Gross, while Spurs will also have to contend without the midfielder, Lucas Moura and Moussa Sissoko as all of them picked up their fifth booking of the season.

Click through the gallery above to see who performed the best.