Georginio Rutter's last-gasp equaliser kept Tottenham in the Premier League's relegation zone, as they were twice pegged back in a 2-2 draw with Brighton.

It looked as though Roberto De Zerbi's side would climb out of the bottom three after producing a much-improved display against the Italian's former club, but having led on two occasions, they conceded in stoppage time in each half.

Spurs came flying out of the traps in the first half but were hugely fortunate not to concede in the 32nd minute. Micky van de Van got ahead of Danny Welbeck from Jack Hinshelwood's knock-down, and the stand-in skipper was lucky to divert the ball off his own post.

The hosts then struck from their next attack as the influential Xavi Simons lifted a delightful dink into the area, with Pedro Porro beating Bart Verbruggen to the ball to score a 39th-minute opener.

They could not see that advantage through to half-time, though, with Kaoru Mitoma – who replaced the injured Diego Gomez – lashing a spectacular volley past Antonín Kinsky.

Spurs dusted themselves down after that setback and had the better of the second half, with both Conor Gallagher and Joao Palhinha going close before Simons' curler went in off the post in the 77th minute, after Lucas Bergvall stole possession from Jan Paul van Hecke.

There was to be one final twist, though, as Van Hecke picked the pocket of Kevin Danso and found Rutter, who delivered a hammer blow to Spurs' survival hopes by firing into the roof of the net.

Spurs could find themselves four points adrift of safety by the time they visit Wolves – who are still not mathematically relegated – next Saturday, with Nottingham Forest and West Ham in action in the next two days.

Data Debrief: Brighton substitutes dent Spurs' survival bid

Spurs were on the verge of a huge victory with 95 minutes on the clock, but after Rutter's equaliser, the Opta supercomputer assigns them a 53.4% chance of relegation. They are now winless in their last 15 Premier League matches (D6 L9), extending their worst-ever run in the competition.

And they have also failed to win any of their last five Premier League games after taking the lead (D3 L2), their worst such streak since December 2023 (also five – D1 L4).

De Zerbi has now won just one of his last 12 matches in the Premier League, with both Brighton and Spurs (D3 L8), while he has failed to win either of his opening two games in both of his spells in the competition (also D1 L1 with Brighton in October 2022).

Spurs narrowly edged out their opponents in terms of shots (13 to 10) and expected goals (1.12 xG to 0.85), only to be denied by another goal from a Brighton substitute.

The Seagulls have had 11 goals scored by players coming off the bench this season, the joint-most in the Premier League alongside Arsenal.