Watford 1 Tottenham 4
Watford: Kaboul (90'+1) | Tottenham: Kane (27', 33'), Alli (41', 46')
Man of the Match: Dele Alli (Tottenham)
They have been twin thrashings, four-goal salvoes fired away from home which have now taken Tottenham into the top four. Mission statements have secured their eventual elevation, ending their two-month stay in fifth place. Like Southampton four days earlier, Watford on Sunday discovered Tottenham are in enviable form.
Theirs was a performance of utter dominance. Watford posted the first contender for the unwanted award of 2017’s most shambolic display, but Tottenham were terrific.
“We played to a very high standard,” said Mauricio Pochettino. “The first half was one of the best we have played this season.”
It was his vision being played out perfectly: youth and energy, attacking intent and skill, a triumph hewn on the training ground, borne of collectivism and clinched by the twin emblems of the new Tottenham.
Harry Kane and Dele Alli — one home-grown, the other acquired young and both moulded by Pochettino — struck twice apiece. It was Kane’s 100th Premier League appearance and he marked it with his 58th and 59th goals, a healthy statistic that is a sign of his consistent productivity. A brace was taken with the assurance of a specialist scorer. Perhaps the only surprise was that the supply line for both goals was reserve rightback Kieran Trippier. Promoted because Kyle Walker was suspended, the understudy doubled his tally of assists for Spurs in six minutes.
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His first was a pass slid through the Watford defence that Kane converted from an acute angle. Then Trippier controlled Alli’s cross-field ball and whipped in an enticing cross. Kane met it on the volley to apply the finishing touch.
Alli was inches from a landmark of his own, a maiden Premier League hat-trick. He struck the bar with a ferocious shot a minute before Kane’s opener. He ended with a second successive brace and proof of his symbiotic understanding with Kane: his second goal came from the striker’s cross.
For his first, he latched on to a poor clearance from Younes Kaboul, the man Pochettino had appointed Tottenham captain before swiftly acknowledging his error, and placed a shot beyond the former Spurs goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes. The presence of two old boys added a symbolism: Tottenham’s present is infinitely preferable to much of their recent past.
Pochettino was able to remove Alli with half an hour remaining. Danny Rose and Kane also sat out the closing stages as attention turned to Wednesday’s attempt to halt Chelsea’s winning run. “We’re coming for you,” chorused the Spurs faithful to their Blues counterparts.
Their thoughts had strayed from Watford. Pochettino had taken mercy on them. Tottenham lost concentration in added time and Kaboul scored the least consoling of consolation goals. Watford’s problems began before kick-off. Already ravaged by injuries, they lost Juan Zuniga in the warm-up. Striker Odion Ighalo came in while Nordin Amrabat, Watford’s third choice right wing-back, moved to the flank until he, too, sustained an injury.
Yet absences alone cannot excuse their staggering ineptitude, as Adlene Guedioura accepted. “It is embarrassing to lose like that,” said the midfielder. “I want to apologise to all the fans.” Much was sorry about Watford, a side seeming to lack the basics, whether of organisation or commitment. They feel a team without an identity, as though the revolving-door recruitment policy has come at a cost.
Now Tottenham have four consecutive wins, Watford one point from four games. They looked what they are: teams going in opposite directions.
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The%C2%A0specs%20
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The End of Loneliness
Benedict Wells
Translated from the German by Charlotte Collins
Sceptre
The specs
Engine: 2x201bhp AC Permanent-magnetic electric
Transmission: n/a
Power: 402bhp
Torque: 659Nm
Price estimate: Dh200,000
On sale: Q3 2022
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
THE BIO:
Favourite holiday destination: Thailand. I go every year and I’m obsessed with the fitness camps there.
Favourite book: Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. It’s an amazing story about barefoot running.
Favourite film: A League of their Own. I used to love watching it in my granny’s house when I was seven.
Personal motto: Believe it and you can achieve it.
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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The specs
BMW M8 Competition Coupe
Engine 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8
Power 625hp at 6,000rpm
Torque 750Nm from 1,800-5,800rpm
Gearbox Eight-speed paddleshift auto
Acceleration 0-100kph in 3.2 sec
Top speed 305kph
Fuel economy, combined 10.6L / 100km
Price from Dh700,000 (estimate)
On sale Jan/Feb 2020
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3EFounder%3A%20Hani%20Abu%20Ghazaleh%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20Abu%20Dhabi%2C%20with%20an%20office%20in%20Montreal%3Cbr%3EFounded%3A%202018%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20Virtual%20Reality%3Cbr%3EInvestment%20raised%3A%20%241.2%20million%2C%20and%20nearing%20close%20of%20%245%20million%20new%20funding%20round%3Cbr%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%2012%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Company%20Profile
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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World Cup warm-up fixtures
Friday, May 24:
- Pakistan v Afghanistan (Bristol)
- Sri Lanka v South Africa (Cardiff)
Saturday, May 25
- England v Australia (Southampton)
- India v New Zealand (The Oval, London)
Sunday, May 26
- South Africa v West Indies (Bristol)
- Pakistan v Bangladesh (Cardiff)
Monday, May 27
- Australia v Sri Lanka (Southampton)
- England v Afghanistan (The Oval, London)
Tuesday, May 28
- West Indies v New Zealand (Bristol)
- Bangladesh v India (Cardiff)
Factfile on Garbine Muguruza:
Name: Garbine Muguruza (ESP)
World ranking: 15 (will rise to 5 on Monday)
Date of birth: October 8, 1993
Place of birth: Caracas, Venezuela
Place of residence: Geneva, Switzerland
Height: 6ft (1.82m)
Career singles titles: 4
Grand Slam titles: 2 (French Open 2016, Wimbledon 2017)
Career prize money: $13,928,719
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
At a glance - Zayed Sustainability Prize 2020
Launched: 2008
Categories: Health, energy, water, food, global high schools
Prize: Dh2.2 million (Dh360,000 for global high schools category)
Winners’ announcement: Monday, January 13
Impact in numbers
335 million people positively impacted by projects
430,000 jobs created
10 million people given access to clean and affordable drinking water
50 million homes powered by renewable energy
6.5 billion litres of water saved
26 million school children given solar lighting
Glossary of a stock market revolution
Reddit
A discussion website
Redditor
The users of Reddit
Robinhood
A smartphone app for buying and selling shares
Short seller
Selling a stock today in the belief its price will fall in the future
Short squeeze
Traders forced to buy a stock they are shorting
Naked short
An illegal practice
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Uefa Nations League
League A:
Germany, Portugal, Belgium, Spain, France, England, Switzerland, Italy, Poland, Iceland, Croatia, Netherlands
League B:
Austria, Wales, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Ukraine, Republic of Ireland, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, Denmark, Czech Republic, Turkey
League C:
Hungary, Romania, Scotland, Slovenia, Greece, Serbia, Albania, Norway, Montenegro, Israel, Bulgaria, Finland, Cyprus, Estonia, Lithuania
League D:
Azerbaijan, Macedonia, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia, Latvia, Faroe Islands, Luxembourg, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Liechtenstein, Malta, Andorra, Kosovo, San Marino, Gibraltar
Company%20profile
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Company%20Profile
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Sun jukebox
Rufus Thomas, Bear Cat (The Answer to Hound Dog) (1953)
This rip-off of Leiber/Stoller’s early rock stomper brought a lawsuit against Phillips and necessitated Presley’s premature sale to RCA.
Elvis Presley, Mystery Train (1955)
The B-side of Presley’s final single for Sun bops with a drummer-less groove.
Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two, Folsom Prison Blues (1955)
Originally recorded for Sun, Cash’s signature tune was performed for inmates of the titular prison 13 years later.
Carl Perkins, Blue Suede Shoes (1956)
Within a month of Sun’s February release Elvis had his version out on RCA.
Roy Orbison, Ooby Dooby (1956)
An essential piece of irreverent juvenilia from Orbison.
Jerry Lee Lewis, Great Balls of Fire (1957)
Lee’s trademark anthem is one of the era’s best-remembered – and best-selling – songs.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5