Spurs Make it Three in Three With Win Against Watford

Sunday 29th August 2021

Match Report

Tottenham Hotspur 1 – 0 Watford

Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London

Competition: English Premier League

Harry Kane was back in the starting line-up for his first league appearance since the Euros. He replaced Moura, who's become a comfortable substitute in his time at Spurs, he's certainly had his moments for us though. Could Harry Kane provide one of those today for the club he's been trying to leave throughout the summer?

He arguably should have had a penalty in the opening seconds of the match as Watford worked the kick-off back to their goalkeeper whose kick-out was intercepted by Bergwijn, he played it in for Kane to take down inside the penalty area before being clattered into by a recovering defender. The ref waved away Kane's protest.

Watford looked lively down the flanks in the opening stages and seemed to be intent on getting at Reguilón and Tanganga.

Spurs saw off the early threats though and soon settled into the game. They enjoyed the lion's share of possession but failed to make an impact on the score.

That was until just before half time when Bergwijn did well to win a free kick by the top corner of the Watford penalty area. Son knew exactly what to do with this one and whipped an in-swinger across the front of goal that was asking for a Spurs man to get on the end of. None of them did but that didn't matter as Son's cross deceived the goalkeeper and found its way into the far corner. 1-0.

"Thoughts at Half-Time – Son all smiles and Spurs deservedly leading at the break, it's what we all love to see. They've created chances on the counter though, so let's hope we get out there and put this one to bed."

Watford continued to sit back hoping to spring away on the break. It allowed Spurs a lot of the ball but they lacked an end product going forward. Fortunately Watford had the same problem and threats on Hugo's goal were rare.

The closest we saw to a second came as Moura fizzed a ball across the face of goal and looked to provide Kane with a tap-in at the far post, but a vital nick from a sliding Watford defender diverted it just off path.

"Thoughts at Full-Time – Not the most exciting encounter but Spurs won't mind. A third successive 1-0 victory for Nuno's men means Spurs sit pretty at the top of the table while rivals Arsenal wallow all the way down in bottom place. Happy days."

Tottenham Player Ratings

• 1. Hugo Lloris – 6 – Didn't have a lot to do. Good when called upon.

• 25. Japhet Tanganga – 7 – Looked a potential threat with his physicality down the right side. Caught-out defensively at times. Still learning, but another promising performance.

• 6. Davinson Sánchez – 7 – Solid at the back and decent with his distribution too.

• 15. Eric Dier – 7 – Cleared the danger on occasion. Made a good headed block to deny what looked like a Watford goal in the opening stages.

• 3. Sergio Reguilón – 6 – Sarr put him to the test early on and got in behind a few times. Showed good enthusiasm going forward.

• 5. Pierre-Emile Højbjerg – 8 – A dominating midfield performance. Looked confident on the ball and went about grafting for the team as usual.

• 29. Oliver Skipp – 7 – Did well again alongside Højbjerg. As they're very similar players we did lack creativity in there at times.

• 20. Dele Alli – 6 – Got box-to-box and tried a few things here and there. Made a good run to be on the end of a Kane pass but should have done better with the effort he dragged wide.

• 7. Son Heung-min – 8 – A livewire. Looked for the ball and ran at the Watford defence. Got the goal with a wicked free kick to the far post that found the net.

• 10. Harry Kane – 6 – Looked tired. Showed some good touches but didn't have the impact fans would have been hoping to see.

• 23. Steven Bergwijn – 7 – Won the free kick for Son's goal. Looked up for it and dangerous on occasion, but his final ball was lacking.

Substitutions:

• 7. Son Heung-min <-- 68' --> 27. Lucas Moura – 7 – Played the last twenty and his pestering runs and general energy helped see-out the victory. Crossed the ball that almost put one on a plate for Kane.

• 23. Steven Bergwijn <-- 88' --> 11. Bryan Gil – N/A – On as a late substitute.

Man of the Match – 7. Son Heung-min