Davinson Sanchez saw red as Tottenham failed to win in the Premier League once again. Davinson Sanchez saw red as Tottenham failed to win in the Premier League once again. Davinson Sanchez saw red as Tottenham failed to win in the Premier League once again. Davinson Sanchez saw red as Tottenham failed to win in the Premier League once again.
At the start of the day, Tottenham would certainly not have wanted a draw at Watford. But given they fell behind early on and then had to play for the final 40 minutes with 10 men following Davinson Sanchez's sending off, this result could have been worse.
Christian Kabasele headed Watford into the lead in the 13th minute, only for Son Heung-Min to equalise.
But Tottenham's hopes of going on to win the contest were ruined seven minutes after the interval as Sanchez was shown a straight red card for raising an arm into Richarlison's face -- and Watford came closest to getting a decisive goal when Abdoulaye Doucoure hit the post.
Positives
Having trailed for a long time in their previous games against West Brom and Leicester, Spurs only took 12 minutes to equalise this time -- and Son has now scored three goals in four starts, taking some of the pressure off Harry Kane's shoulders.
Christian Eriksen also looked brighter, and the Dane set up the leveller.
Negatives
Tottenham seem unable to keep clean sheets and keep falling behind. This was the third game in a row that they have found themselves trailing to a lower-placed team inside the opening 15 minutes.
That has been a big reason for the fact that they have now failed to win any of their last four Premier League matches and have lost more ground in the top four fight.
Sanchez also now faces a ban, coinciding with Toby Alderweireld's absence through injury.
Manager rating out of 10
7 -- Mauricio Pochettino correctly changed his formation to 4-2-3-1 at the start while picking Son, who scored. He can hardly be blamed for Sanchez's sending off. But his decision to swap Eriksen for Moussa Sissoko in the 64th minute was curious, given the Dane was having a lively game and will surely be rested against APOEL Nicosia on Wednesday anyway.
Player ratings (1-10; 10 = best. Players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating)
GK Hugo Lloris, 6 -- Had little chance with the goal and otherwise didn't have much to do.
DF Kieran Trippier, 7 -- Seems to enjoy facing Watford and posed a threat again. The right-back put in some good crosses and it was he who played the curling ball down the line that freed Eriksen to set up the equaliser.
DF Davinson Sanchez, 4 -- Had a solid first half but his dismissal was a big moment. It was unintentional but clumsy and it left his teammates with an uphill task.
DF Jan Vertonghen, 7 -- Defended well, especially when Spurs were outnumbered, and even when he seemed to be struggling for passing options he invariably managed to thread a pass forward to a teammate.
DF Ben Davies, 5 -- Another quiet showing. The switch to 4-2-3-1 could partly be interpreted as an acceptance from Pochettino that Son provides a better attacking threat on the left side than Davies.
MF Eric Dier, 6 -- Played some fine crossfield passes out to Trippier and helped to keep the hosts at bay after dropping into defence alongside Vertonghen. But he looked fortunate to escape a penalty late on when Richarlison's cross hit his hand.
MF Mousa Dembele, 6 -- Not at his best yet, with some of his passes missing the mark, but the Belgian showed his ability to skip past opponents in impossibly tight areas, which opened up space for his teammates.
MF Christian Eriksen, 7 -- Looked sharper than in previous displays and set up the equaliser. The Dane worked hard as usual too. And, although he has looked in need of a rest lately, few supporters would have been pleased to see him being replaced by Sissoko.
MF Dele Alli, 6 -- Made some positive driving runs, only to be pulled back or tripped on a few occasions.
MF Son Heung-Min 6 -- Scored his third goal in four starts but failed to kick on from there. His pace looked like it could cause Watford problems but he was too often on the fringes, and he was caught offside a lot.
FW Harry Kane, 6 -- Struggled to hurt Watford in the final third and was most effective when dropping into deeper midfield positions and spraying passes around.
Davinson Sanchez's sending off left Tottenham with a mountain to climb.
Substitutes
MF Moussa Sissoko, 6 -- Replaced Eriksen to give Spurs extra energy and pace on the break, and at one point he charged forward and saw a shot deflected into the side netting. But that was a brief highlight and he also lost the ball over the touchline after losing control of it.
MF Erik Lamela, N/R -- Came on for the final 15 minutes but was unable to have the same impact as against Leicester on Tuesday, when he set up Kane's goal.
MF Harry Winks, N/R -- Had a late run-out after suffering from illness during the week.
Ben is ESPN FC's Tottenham blogger. Follow on Twitter: @BenPearceSpurs.
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Source: espn.co.uk