Football Features

    “Lucas struggles to replace Kane” – Every player rated as Spurs lose further top-four ground at Watford

    By Harry Edwards

    Published: 14:41, 18 January 2020

    Tottenham‘s winless run in the Premier League continued as they were held to a goalless draw by Watford.

    Jose Mourinho‘s side have now gone four games without a win, failing to score in three of those, and did not have too many chances to rectify that on Saturday. Watford also had their chances, with Troy Deeney seeing a penalty saved, but in the end a draw was a fair result for an underwhelming game.

    Here’s how the players rated at Vicarage Road:

    Watford

    Ben Foster – 6 – Had a largely comfortable afternoon, not having to make too many saves apart from a few routine ones.

    Adrian Mariappa – 7 – Brought valuable experience to Watford’s defence and ensured Tottenham‘s attack did not have an easy game.

    Craig Dawson – 7 – Alongside the other Craig, Dawson was solid as part of Watford’s back four but didn’t really have too much defending to do.

    Craig Cathcart – 7 – Put in a defensive performance that will have Watford fans even more optimistic about their chances of staying up, keeping Tottenham‘s forwards quiet.

    Adam Masina – 7 – Always seemed to be there for Watford when Tottenham looked close to breaking through, particularly in the second half.

    Nathaniel Chalobah – 8 – Sat back perfectly, effectively turning Watford’s formation into a back five at times, helping to frustrate the Tottenham attack. He was slightly let down, however, by his delivery from set pieces at times.

    Etienne Capoue – 7 – Somewhatfortunate to still be on the pitch after a bad challenge on Japhet Tanganga but the midfielder was solid against his former side. Perhaps could have been better on the ball.

    Ismaila Sarr – 8 – After a slow start, Watford’s record signing ensured Tanganga had a tough afternoon, constantly running at the left-back and causing serious problems.

    Abdoulaye Doucoure – 7 – A danger as the game went on and had the first chance of the second half, running onto Deeney’s neat flick but he couldn’t squeeze the ball the right side of the near post. Then he tried to take out Harry Winks and Jan Vertonghen in a brief melee which brought a yellow card, which was perhaps the liveliest moment of the game.

    Gerard Deulofeu – 6 – Constantly looked to test Tottenham‘s defence with his running and did so at times but his effectiveness was limited after half-time.

    Troy Deeney – 7 – A strong presence up front as usual and had possibly Watford’s best chance of the first half, but his header was a bit too weak and easily saved. Had the perfect opportunity to give Watford the lead but saw his penalty saved by Paulo Gazzaniga.

    Substitutes:

    Roberto Pereyra (for Chalobah 79) – 5 – Did not add too much after coming on.

    Ignacio Pussetto (for Sarr 89) – 6 – Was only on the pitch for a few minutes but produced an inch-perfect goal-line clearance to preserve a point.

    Tottenham Hotspur

    Paulo Gazzaniga – 7 – Did well to put Doucoure off in the second half and saved Deeney’s penalty comfortably but was largely untroubled otherwise.

    Serge Aurier – 7 – It looked to be typical Aurier performance as the Ivorian spent a lot of his time forward and asked questions of Watford but would have also worried Tottenham fans with some of his defensive decisions. However, after half-time Aurier looked more solid and kept tabs on Deulofeu, limiting his impact on the right.

    Toby Alderweireld – 6 – Looked shaky at times and did not deal well with the threat of Deeney. However, he was reliable for the most part.

    Jan Vertonghen – 6 – Slightly less impressive than his defensive partner and his game will be remembered for two moments. The first was being knocked down by Doucoure, perhaps a bit too easily, and he was then penalised for handball with his arm raised while trying to block the ball – though the Belgian’s blushes were saved by Gazzaniga.

    Japhet Tanganga – 4 – Given a rough afternoon by Sarr not made any easier by a yellow card in the first half. Did improve slightly after half-time when given more support but it still wasn’t a great performance from the youngster.

    Harry Winks – 5 – An average performance from the Englishman at the base of Tottenham‘s midfield, not really adding anything too positive.

    Dele Alli – 5 – A decent performance from the Englishman but Tottenham needed more than that to break down a stern Watford defence, and he didn’t deliver.

    Erik Lamela – 6 – Impressive at times but perhaps a bit too sporadic and wasteful with his shooting when Tottenham were pressing for a winner in the second half. Thought he had given Tottenham the late win after a scramble but his shot was cleared off the line.

    Giovani Lo Celso – 7 – Showed his good passing range on to try and open up Watford’s midfield but was frustrated by Tottenham‘s lack of a prolific attacker on the day.

    Son Heung-min – 5 – A frequent option on the left for Tottenham to feed the ball to but didn’t really trouble Watford’s defence enough.

    Lucas Moura – 4 – Had a good chance in the first half after being played through by Alli, but his effort was saved by Foster. Otherwise poor.

    Substitutes:

    Christian Eriksen (for Alli 72) – 5 – Unable to provide a game-winning change.

    Gedson Fernandes (for Lo Celso 80) – 6 – Looked lively after coming on for his Tottenham debut.

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