Tottenham Hotspur drew 1-1 at Watford on Saturday afternoon.
Tottenham Hotspur’s poor recent form continued on Saturday afternoon as they could only draw 1-1 with Watford at Vicarage Road.
Mauricio Pochettino’s men entered the game off the back of a 2-1 defeat at Leicester City, and with questions over their form, Spurs made the worst possible start as Christian Kabasele headed home Tom Cleverley’s corner.
Spurs did hit back before half time as Christian Eriksen crossed for Son Heung-min to score from close range, but any hopes of a win were virtually extinguished when Davinson Sanchez was sent off in the second half.
It’s now just two points from four games since the international break for Spurs, and Pochettino will be particularly frustrated with the manner in which his side conceded.
After the defeat to Leicester, Pochettino told the club’s official website that his side couldn’t keep conceding the first goal in games, urging his players to start quicker.
However, that’s now five games in a row in all competitions that Tottenham have conceded the first goal in the first half, and it hasn’t gone unnoticed by pundits either.
BBC Sport’s Alan Shearer told Match of the Day over the weekend that Tottenham will continue to be punished if they keep starting slowly, blasting Spurs for only turning up in glamour games against Real Madrid.
“It’s alright playing in the glory games, in the Champions League, playing Real Madrid home and away and getting results, but in the bread and butter games, in the Premier League, they’s started games so slowly,” said Shearer. “If you start games slowly in the Premier League, you get punished,” he added.
Pochettino can point to the absence of Toby Alderweireld as one reason why Spurs are struggling to hold out at the back, but Spurs as a whole must show more energy from the get-go – or they will continue to be playing catch-up.
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