Match report: Tottenham Hotspur 1 Watford 0

Haran Naresh watched from The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as Spurs edged past Watford.

Spurs and Watford players watch on as Heung-min Son’s free-kick nestles into the far corner (photo by Tottenham Hotspur FC/Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images)

Tottenham Hotspur went to the top of the Premier League table following a hard-fought victory over Watford.

Heung-min Son’s first half free-kick secured the three points for the home side who were given a tough test by the Hornets.

Tottenham nearly took the lead almost straight from kick off. Watford goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann gave the ball away with a poor goal-kick. Spurs found Harry Kane in the area and the striker went down under pressure from Watford defenders. Tottenham felt that he was fouled but their appeals were ignored by the referee. At the other end former Spurs player Moussa Sissoko teed up Juraj Kucka, whose shot was headed behind by Eric Dier.

In the 5th minute Ismaila Sarr went flying past Sergio Reguilon and the defender mis-timed his tackle, giving away a free-kick on the edge of the area. Adam Masina’s delivery from the resulting set-piece was poor and the ball sailed aimlessly behind.

Watford started brightly and passed the ball around well, with Sarr having success in his one-on-one duels with Reguilon.

Sarr was a constant threat and went past Dele Alli before firing a shot into the palms of Hugo Lloris.

With 20 minutes on the clock, Son delivered a corner which caused havoc in the Watford box, with the ball falling to Tanganga who attempted an effort which was saved by Bachmann.

Spurs starting to take the initiative at this stage as Watford found it increasingly more difficult to keep possession.

Tottenham took the lead three minutes before half-time. Son’s free-kick caught Bachmann off guard, beating everyone in the box before bouncing into the net. It was an error of judgement from the Watford keeper who had looked unsure of himself all half.

The goal did not settle Spurs and Watford’s pacy forward line continued unsettle their defence. Sarr easily shrugged off Reguilon from a throw-in and delivered a cut-back to the unmarked Kucka but he sent his effort well over the bar.

A minute later, Sissoko went on a strong run, getting the better of Alli before pulling the ball back towards Josh King but Sarr appeared to take the ball off his team-mate and had his shot blocked by Davinson Sanchez.

Son won the ball off Kucka and carried the ball upfield before finding Kane, who cut the ball back to Alli in space but he steered his effort wide from close range.

With 72 minutes gone, Bachmann delivered yet another poor goal-kick, this time it was intercepted by Hojbjerg, who played in Lucas and the Brazilian drove forward before he fired a low shot that was saved by the Watford goalkeeper.

The away side’s midfield began to look stretched as the game went on, with Kucka fouling Alli 25 yards from goal. Hojbjerg’s free-kick took a big deflection off substitute Tom Cleverley and forced Bachmann to adjust his position and push the ball behind.

Spurs created a big chance to make sure of the win in the 83rd minute. Moura went on an excellent run, beating Masina with ease before squaring to Kane in the penalty area but the Watford defence made a crucial interception to take the ball away from the striker.

Tottenham took the sting out of the game in the final stages, keeping the ball for large periods and securing the victory.

For the second consecutive Premier League game Spurs won without playing particularly well. Nuno will know that this is a great quality for a team to have but will also be acutely aware that performances will have to improve with tougher tests on the horizon.

Clubs now step away from action for the next fortnight during the international break. Spurs visit Crystal Palace on 11th September before hosting Chelsea on the 19th.

Tottenham manager Nuno Espirito Santo speaking in his post-match press conference: “What pleased me was that when we had chances to kill the game and we didn’t, we didn’t lose our minds. We stick together, and we were compact, we did not allow too many chances to Watford. I think we should be more clinical, we have the quality and talent to kill the game.”