James Maddison masterplan deployed vs Brighton to fix major Tottenham problem

James Maddison is playing an extremely important role defensively in Tottenham's Premier League clash against Brighton. The Spurs No.10 made his first start since suffering an ankle injury last weekend in the draw against Everton with an assist attributed to his name.

The England international had missed the last three months prior to his late cameo in the FA Cup against Manchester City at the end of January. The return of Maddison came in line with Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven both being back from injury, however the Lilywhites have still struggled defensively.

Against Manchester United, Brentford and Everton, Spurs have conceded two goals with set-pieces proving to be an issue for Guglielmo Vicario. Both goals Spurs conceded at Goodison Park came from set-pieces with numerous corners placed right on top of the Tottenham goalkeeper causing numerous issues.

One of those resulted in a goal being scored by Jack Harrison in the first half which saw Maddison offer his advice out to Vicario at half time in order to prevent him being dominated in the second half. The 6ft3ins shot-stopper dealt far better with corners in the second half but Spurs' opponents would know he has a weakness when it comes to dealing with crosses under pressure.

With that in mind, the first corner for Brighton at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium saw Maddison stand directly in front of Vicario to potentially help him gather the ball. And it is fair to say that plan worked successfully with Maddison fouled by Lewis Dunk to relieve the pressure on Vicario and Spurs.

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