Tottenham 4-0 Watford
Tottenham: Dele Alli (33’) Eric Dier (39’) Son Heung-min (44’, 55’)
Man of the match: Kieran Trippier (Tottenham)
LONDON // Tottenham Hotspur may be behind Chelsea in the Premier League table, but there is one area of the game in which they lead the way.
Saturday’s 4-0 victory over Watford brought a 14th clean sheet of the top-flight season and means Mauricio Pochettino’s charges remain in possession of the division’s best defensive record.
There was plenty of attacking quality on show from the hosts at White Hart Lane, as Tottenham dismantled their opponents and extended their winning run at home to 11 consecutive Premier League matches.
Solidity at the back has underpinned the side’s success throughout Pochettino’s tenure, though, and Tottenham once again demonstrated how difficult they are to play against in this impressive thrashing of Watford.
Walter Mazzarri’s men actually started reasonably well, pushing players forward in the early stages and threatening with a couple of promising moments.
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Jose Holebas’ free-kick was well struck but gathered comfortably by Hugo Lloris, before Craig Cathcart prodded wide after Tottenham failed to clear another Holebas set-piece.
Neither could be considered clear-cut chances, however, and by the midway stage of the first half Tottenham had found their rhythm.
Vincent Janssen somehow failed to turn the ball home from close-range after Kieran Trippier’s terrific first-time delivery, while Christian Eriksen and Ben Davies both tried their luck from outside the box.
The first goal seemed like only a matter of time at that point, and Dele Alli was the man to get it. An intelligent piece of movement opened up a yard of space for the 20-year-old, who then bent a fine finish into the far corner of the net.
The second and third followed soon after: first, Eric Dier lashed a ferocious finish past Heurelho Gomes, then Son Heung-min got in on the act with a left-footed curler from 20 yards.
By this stage Tottenham were producing some scintillating football going forward, but just as notable was how utterly untroubled they were at the other end.
Despite possessing plenty of counter-attacking pace, Watford were simply unable to get out, as opposition bodies swarmed around them whenever they threatened to break.
Whereas sides like Liverpool often press to cause chaos, a tactic which can lead to games becoming open and stretched, Tottenham press to exert control.
Saturday’s triumph was a perfect example of this, as Watford were forced into going long early with balls forward and giving up the ball almost as soon as they had won it back, which allowed the home side to dominate possession and create a host of opportunities.
Tottenham added a fourth nine minutes after the interval, Son rounding off a superb team move that began with Lloris cleverly clipping a goal-kick to Trippier and ended with the South Korean side-footing a volley past Gomes at the far post.
Son could easily have ended the game with a hat-trick but dragged a one-on-one wide in the 81st minute, while the returning Harry Kane smashed a free-kick against the crossbar in stoppage time.
Even more impressive was the fact that Watford were restricted to very little in the way of scoring chances.
The visitors managed just two shots on target throughout Saturday’s encounter, and both of those efforts came from outside the penalty area in the opening 11 minutes.
Chelsea remain clear favourites to win the title, but with an average of just 0.7 goals conceded per game Tottenham refuse to go away.
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