Brennan Johnson's late goal in the 90+6 minute helped Tottenham overcome Brighton, thereby temporarily overcoming Aston Villa to squeeze into the Premier League Top 4.
Notably, this was not the first time this season that Tottenham scored in extra time. According to Opta Analyst, before round 24 of the Premier League, Spurs had won 6 points from goals scored after the 90th minute.
In round 5, two consecutive goals in the 90+8 and 90+10 minutes of Richarlison and Dejan Kulusevski helped Tottenham come back 2-1 against Sheffield United. Just one round later, Joel Matip's own goal in the 90+6 minute also helped the London team win dramatically against Liverpool. In round 14, Spurs continued to escape defeat against Man City thanks to a 3-3 equalizer in the 90th minute by Dejan Kulusevski.
The goals coming in the final minutes of the match will bring wonderful emotions to the winners but also be a huge disappointment for the losers. Currently, Ange Postecoglou's team is the team that has experienced both of those extremes the most.
Tottenham have conceded the most extra-time goals in the Premier League this season (eight). The goals conceded in the last minute also cost Spurs 5 points after 23 rounds. A typical example was the goal conceded in the 90+4 minute against Everton, causing Tottenham to lose the victory and sadly leave Goodison Park with 1 point.
Opta Analyst has compiled a list of 12 teams that have conceded at least eight goals in the final minutes of extra time in the Premier League era. Of which, the record of 11 goals conceded in extra time for the match belongs to Burnley in the 2018-2019 season. Except for Tottenham in the 2023-2024 season, there were 5 teams that were relegated, while 6 other English representatives successfully stayed in the league.
However, none of these teams have finished the Premier League season ranked higher than 14th. These are all teams that have spent most of their season out of the red light zone. With the current context and goals, "Rooster" fans clearly do not want their team to suffer the same fate as the remaining representatives.
This does not mean Tottenham will be relegated. However, conceding a goal in stoppage time is certainly a concern for Postecoglou's side, especially as Spurs often play better early in the game.
Tottenham and Arsenal are the teams that have scored the most opening goals in the Premier League this season (17 goals). Postecoglou's men have always started the game better, but have failed to maintain that advantage, losing 18 points after leading 1-0.
Spurs often cannot cope with the pressure of opponents after taking the lead and have only won 10/17 of their opening goals, reaching a rate of 59%. Meanwhile, Arsenal won 14/17 matches as the opening team, reaching a rate of 82%.
With Tottenham approaching the Top 4 after round 24 of the Premier League, conceding goals in extra time may not be a top concern for Postecoglou. However, this will also be the problem that the Australian captain needs to find a solution if he wants Tottenham to narrow the gap with the top teams in the Premier League, thereby getting a ticket to the Champions League next season.
