(Credit: Imago)

Evan Shaw

Sun 19 April 2026 11:15, UK

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Xavi Simons thought he had scored a crucial winning goal for Tottenham Hotspur in their 2-2 draw with Brighton on Saturday. 

The attacking midfielder crashed a stinging effort in off the post to put his team 2-1 up in the 77^th minute, after Pedro Porro and Kaoru Mitoma had previously exchanged first-half goals. 

Simons’ strike put Roberto De Zerbi’s side within touching distance of a first league win in 15 games, which would have lifted them out of the relegation zone ahead of Sunday’s action. 

However, Georginio Rutter stepped up to snatch a point for Brighton in stoppage time, and break the hearts of the hosts in the final moments.

The Frenchman’s goal has heaped further pressure on Tottenham’s remaining games, as they could find themselves four points adrift of safety by Monday night.

Xavi Simons urges Tottenham fans to keep the faith

Simons’ performances have prompted plenty of frustration from Spurs fans this season, as he has often failed to live up to the £52million price tag that was paid for him last summer. 

The Dutchman struggled to get going in the early stages of his time in the Premier League, and that has largely carried over into the rest of the season. 

However, he stepped up when the Lilywhites needed him most on Saturday, as he produced a moment of magic that the North Londoners had been waiting for.

It should have been the decisive contribution in a huge three points for his team’s relegation battle, but a defensive error consigned De Zerbi’s men to another winless gameweek.

Despite the frustrating outcome, Simons is clearly keen to try and keep a level of positivity at Spurs heading into the final few weeks of the season. 

The 22-year-old took to Instagram after the game and shared a photo of himself celebrating his goal in front of the fans, accompanied by the caption: “We will NOT stop fighting. Crowd was amazing today.”

Messages of support pour in for Simons

Simons hasn’t had it easy at Tottenham since his move from RB Leipzig last summer, but his goal on Saturday was finally a sign of him starting to produce for his new club. 

His Instagram post was well-received by several of his teammates, as messages of support flooded in for him in the comments section.

Dominic Solanke commented with an emoji puffing out its cheeks as well as a fire emoji, while Destiny Udogie simply responded with a crown.

Pedro Porro also replied with: “mago,” meaning magician in Spanish. 

Tottenham fans will know that they are now firmly at the stage where actions speak louder than words as far as their relegation battle is concerned, but they can at least take solace from the fact that there still appears to be a sense of unity within the squad.