1-1 v Watford FC - 2 December 2017 - Away

Tottenham Hotspur Badge

Spurs 1

Watford FC

Watford FC

1

  • Kabasele
    13'
Details
Match Number

7266

Opposition
Watford

Watford FC

Competition
Premier League

Premier League

Season

2017/18

Date

2nd December 2017

Kick Off

15:00

Venue

Vicarage Road

Attendance

20,278

Referee

Martin Atkinson

League Position

6th

Opposition League Position

8th

Opposition Form

WLLWDW

Weather at Kick Off

4.5° - Overcast

Facts & Milestones
  • 7230th overall match (3449 wins, 1593 draws, 2175 losses)

  • 5644th competitive match (2541 wins, 1325 draws, 1778 losses)

  • team

    65th match vs Watford FC (44 wins, 13 draws, 8 losses)

  • competition

    977th Premier League match (407 wins, 251 draws, 319 losses)

  • 6607th match in England (3106 wins, 1486 draws, 2002 losses)

  • 26th match at Vicarage Road (16 wins, 7 draws, 3 losses)

  • There were 3 changes to the starting lineup from the last match.

Report

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino says his side will learn from "suffering things against us" after Spurs drew against Watford.

Spurs played most of the second half with 10 men after defender Davinson Sanchez was dismissed for elbowing Richarlison in the 52nd minute.

But they battled to secure an away point and moved up to sixth in the Premier League.

The hosts had taken the lead in the 13th minute when Christian Kabasele headed in from six yards from Tom Cleverley's left-wing corner.

Watford thought they should have had a penalty when Richarlison appeared to be fouled, but it was not given, and less than a minute later Tottenham's Son Heung-min finished off Christian Eriksen's cross to equalise.

After Sanchez's red card, Abdoulaye Doucoure hit the post for the hosts with a 25-yard strike but Watford could not find a winning goal.

"We're in a period now that we are suffering things against us," said Pochettino. "It is good for the group to try and learn. It is a long-term project. It will be good for the future. You want to win but in tough moments you learn.

"I think it wasn't intentional for Davinson to do what he did. I am not going to talk about the refereeing decision any more.

"For me one of the first questions is about a controversial situation. My decision is not going to change it."

This was Tottenham's fourth Premier League match without a victory, although they do climb above Burnley, who lost 1-0 at Leicester, while Watford remain eighth.

Both managers might have felt hard done by as a thrilling encounter was marked by controversial incidents.

Watford will feel aggrieved that Tottenham were given the chance to equalise in the first half after Richarlison looked to have been blocked off in the Spurs penalty area by Ben Davies.

However, referee Martin Atkinson, who caused controversy on Wednesday by failing to send off Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet for what looked to be a professional foul on Stoke's Mame Biram Diouf, waved play on.

Tottenham quickly countered down the right through Kieran Trippier, who was repeatedly allowed to advance with the ball, and he released Eriksen, who slid in a low pass which Son tucked away from close range.

Sanchez was dismissed seven minutes into the second half when the defender caught Richarlison with his elbow.

In a fiery encounter, Tottenham's Harry Kane and Dele Alli were both on the receiving end of some tough challenges throughout the match, with four Watford players getting cautioned.

Davinson Sanchez has never been booked in his Tottenham career but received a straight red card against Watford Watford show their fighting spirit

For Watford, it is another impressive result in what has been a superb season so far since Marco Silva took over in the summer.

The Hornets finished one place above the relegation zone in 2016-17 under Walter Mazzarri, but Silva, appointed manager in May, has helped transform the side into a hard-to-beat, physical, but talented team.

This result is the third time this season that Watford have not lost against a top-six side, after also drawing 3-3 with Liverpool in August and beating Arsenal 2-1 in October.

Silva, who was wanted as Everton boss before the Toffees appointed Sam Allardyce earlier this week, watched his team take the lead when Kabasele outjumped Kane to head the hosts in front.

After Son's equaliser and Sanchez's dismissal, Watford came closest to taking the three points but Doucoure's excellent 25-yard strike bounced off the inside of the post and away to safety.

Watford also could have had a late penalty when the ball appeared to hit the arm of Tottenham's Eric Dier, but Atkinson was not interested.

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino told BBC Sport: "We deserved more. In the second half we played more than 40 minutes with one less and the team was brave and tried to win the game.

"I am happy. In the last few weeks we have been frustrated but the face the team showed today was good. Sometimes you need to feel that frustration and learn.

"It is so difficult to play with one less. The good thing is we did not concede and we were also close to scoring. We handled the game well during the second half and I was happy with the performance."

Timeline
KO

Christian Kabasele

13'

Tom Cleverley

36'
HT

Christian Kabasele

50'

Marvin Zeegelaar

73'
FT
Location
League Table
# Team PL W D L GF GA GD PTS
1
Manchester city
14 13 1 0 44 9 35 40
2
Manchester united
14 10 2 2 32 8 24 32
3
Chelsea
14 9 2 3 25 11 14 29
4
Arsenal
14 9 1 4 28 16 12 28
5
Liverpool
14 7 5 2 28 18 10 26
6
Burnley
14 7 4 3 14 11 3 25
7
Tottenham Hotspur Badge Tottenham Hotspur
14 7 3 4 22 12 10 24
8
Watford
14 6 3 5 24 25 -1 21
9
Leicester city
14 4 5 5 19 20 -1 17
10
Brighton hove albion
14 4 5 5 13 14 -1 17
11
Southampton
14 4 4 6 14 17 -3 16
12
Newcastle united
14 4 3 7 13 19 -6 15
13
Everton
14 4 3 7 17 28 -11 15
14
Huddersfield town
14 4 3 7 9 24 -15 15
15
Afc bournemouth
14 4 2 8 12 16 -4 14
16
Stoke city
14 3 4 7 16 29 -13 13
17
West bromwich albion
14 2 6 6 12 21 -9 12
18
West ham united
14 2 4 8 12 30 -18 10
19
Swansea city
14 2 3 9 7 16 -9 9
20
Crystal palace
14 2 3 9 8 25 -17 9
# Team PL W D L GF GA GD PTS
1
Manchester city
15 14 1 0 46 10 36 43
2
Manchester united
15 11 2 2 35 9 26 35
3
Chelsea
15 10 2 3 28 12 16 32
4
Liverpool
15 8 5 2 33 19 14 29
5
Arsenal
15 9 1 5 29 19 10 28
6
Tottenham Hotspur Badge Tottenham Hotspur
15 7 4 4 23 13 10 25
7
Burnley
15 7 4 4 14 12 2 25
8
Watford
15 6 4 5 25 26 -1 22
9
Leicester city
15 5 5 5 20 20 0 20
10
Everton
15 5 3 7 19 28 -9 18
11
Southampton
15 4 5 6 15 18 -3 17
12
Brighton hove albion
15 4 5 6 14 19 -5 17
13
Stoke city
15 4 4 7 18 30 -12 16
14
Afc bournemouth
15 4 3 8 13 17 -4 15
15
Newcastle united
15 4 3 8 14 22 -8 15
16
Huddersfield town
15 4 3 8 9 26 -17 15
17
West bromwich albion
15 2 7 6 12 21 -9 13
18
Crystal palace
15 2 4 9 8 25 -17 10
19
West ham united
15 2 4 9 13 32 -19 10
20
Swansea city
15 2 3 10 8 18 -10 9
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