Tottenham 1 – 0 Watford

Tottenham enter the Premier League’s international first division after Heung-min Son’s goal earned them a 1-0 home win over Watford.

There were early chances for both teams, but the game risked ending up at a dead end before Son came to the rescue in his 200th Premier League appearance, bending over in a nasty cross free kick that reeled in the Watford’s defense and goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann (42) find the far corner.

But Spurs were never completely comfortable as Juraj Kucka and Ismaila Sarr missed opportunities for Watford, although Dele Alli swept away a great opportunity at the other end in the second half and Harry Kane missed two openings. late in his first Premier League appearance of the season. .

It was a third consecutive 1-0 win for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side as they maintained their 100% Premier League record – although the Spurs boss said after the game ‘nothing is wrong’ is perfect, we are always trying to improve ”- while recently – the promoted Watford is in 12th place with three points.

How Spurs came out on top with a third consecutive 1-0 win

Nuno’s debut at Spurs may have been more practical than pretty – Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Oliver Skipp once again sat down deep to protect the defense – but that was exactly what Tottenham needed as they pulled together. headed for the booming international fortnight, just weeks after the club looked in crisis.

A place atop the Premier League with rivals Arsenal backing the division was the carrot hanging in front of them at kick-off and they seized their chance to end a positive week in which Kane confirmed he was staying at the club.

Kane received a welcome from another hero for his first Premier League appearance of the campaign, and the noise had barely subsided by the time he descended on the region following a push from William Ekong after Bachmann’s lazy permission, but nothing was given.

Watford then made the first of several breaks up the field, but Eric Dier brilliantly blocked Kucka’s effort from the edge of the box with his header.

Play began to settle into a pattern – with Spurs attempting to stretch the play and the visitors seated deeper, ready to pounce on the break – as Bachmann superbly denied Japhet Tanganga’s pushing effort into the box from a stampede in a corner.

With Watford looking relatively comfortable heading into half-time, the Spurs’ opener came at the perfect time. Steven Bergwijn won a free kick to the left, which Son coiled brilliantly into the penalty area, and after Bachmann resisted the temptation to claim it, the ball whistled past the crowd in the box and felt in the far corner.

Watford reacted well after the break, creating two big chances. First, Kucka whipped the bar over acres of space from Sarr’s center, before Josh King hampered Sarr eight yards as he looked to get home after Moussa Sissoko fell back.

Sissoko also soared above the bar in space – just as well, given that the pre-match stadium setup always included the yelping of a commentator of a Sissoko strike for Spurs – and that got the whole stadium to chant his name just days after leaving the club.

It was then time for Spurs to counter as Son brilliantly broke midfield; he fed Kane on the right, whose cross found Dele Alli running on the ball, but his low, swept shot fell a few inches wide.

Lucas Moura did a wide cross shot minutes after coming on, then showed good rhythm and fought for Kane to tackle the far post, only for the pass to get the slightest deflection to get him away. of the attacker. path.

From the resulting corner, Kane’s shot into the ground from Eric Dier’s nod was blocked by Bachmann, and Spurs resisted any onslaught from Watford in the dying moments to secure the victory.

What the managers said …

Tottenham boss Nuno Espirito Santo: “There is no perfection, we always try to improve. Today we had a good game in terms of consistency and organization. We need to be more clinical, we had enough chances to make a different score, but the boys worked really hard The team dynamics are good.

“We are threatening enough. Good possession, good lines, maybe a little more dynamic on the movements to open the gaps that we needed, but overall very very well done.

“Watford was very organized, didn’t allow too many spaces. But more dynamic, more mobility on our front line, but something we need to improve. We will see the game and talk to the boys.”

Watford Head Coach Xisco Munoz: “I think we had a very good performance, but we know that if you want to get a result here you have to be perfect. The players understood what we wanted today, it was good, we are going into the good direction.

“I do not think so [about the goal], I prefer to think about positive things. We had control over many aspects of the game. Today was very tough mentally and physically so it was a very good performance from my players. “

Go for statistics

• Tottenham are the second team in Premier League history to win each of their first three games in a 1-0 campaign, after Liverpool in 2013/14.
• Three of Son’s last four goals for Tottenham in all competitions have come from outside the box, as much as his previous 43 goals for the club. His first game today was his first direct free kick for the club.
• Son made his 200th Premier League appearance for Tottenham, becoming the 16th different player to reach Spurs’ milestone in the competition. He also became the seventh player to find the net in his 200th such game for the club, following Sol Campbell, Teddy Sheringham, Robbie Keane, Jermain Defoe, Christian Eriksen and Harry Kane.

And after?

Tottenham travel to Crystal Palace after the international break at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday 11 September, while Watford host Wolves at 3 p.m. on the same day in the Premier League.