The ‘Hornets’ had conceded at least twice in each of their last five PL outings, losing each of those fixtures. Therefoan re, it came as little surprise to see Claudio Ranieri instruct his side to sit deep, starving the Tottenham forwards of space, while trying to exploit any opportunicounter-attackunter attack. Emerson Royal seemed to be the visiting player able to find freedom, but his final ball desperately lacked quality.
Harry Kane was the first ‘Spurs’ player to test Daniel Bachmann, as his curling effort stung the palms of the Austrian goalkeeper. His next save was much more impressive, diving to his left to deny Sergio Reguilón’s driven effort. The visitors’ best chance arrived on the half-hour mark, as Oliver Skipp won the ball high up the field before finding Kane, but the England captain uncharacteristically failed to find the target from close range.
Antonio Conte’s men resumed their dominance after the break, with Kane forcing an acrobatic save from Bachmann minutes after the restart. The hosts responded to this latest scare, with Josh King’s driving shot from distance forcing Hugo Lloris into a superb save. Watford gained a foothold in the game but struggled to test the French goalkeeper further as the half progressed.
Son Heung-min had been well suppressed by defensets’ defence, but he threatened to strike the winner in the closing stages. The Korean was expertly picked out by Lucas Moura, but his close-range shot produced a stunning stop from Bachmann. After a lengthy delay thanks to a medical emergency in the crowd, Watford failed to switch on after the restart and conceded a devastating goal in the sixth minute of stoppage time. Son’s delivery found Sánchez who drove his header in at the near post to send the away end into raptures and wrap up a crucial three points.
