Tottenham Hotspur started the season with a three-game winning run, which included an impressive 3-0 victory away at Old Trafford last week. However, they came up unstuck against Watford on Sunday after taking the lead through Abdoulaye Doucoure’s own goal before conceding two cheap goals to Troy Deeney and Craig Cathcart.
This away defeat will have dampened the mood at North London just before going into the international break. Mauricio Pochettino’s side would now look to bounce back against Liverpool in the next game week so that they can keep up with the other title contenders. Reflecting back on their past performances could help them turn it around in the coming weeks as they face some of the best teams in Europe.
Here are three lessons that Spurs can learn from their disappointing outing at Vicarage Road:
Cope Better With Crosses Into The Box
Both of Watford’s goals on Sunday evening were generated by crosses whipped into the box, which the Tottenham defenders failed to cope with them particularly well. Both Troy Deeney and Craig Cathcart were not marked closely, and the Watford duo made the most out of those opportunities by scoring the goals that completed the turnaround for the home side.
Spurs need to improve defensively and concentrate on man-marking rather than zonal-marking if they are to stop conceding cheap goals from set-pieces.
Harry Kane Needs To Step Up His Game
Although Kane has broken his August voodoo by scoring twice in the past month, his form has not been particularly great for the North London giants over the past few matches. The English forward has looked a bit out of pace after a long summer, but he needs to step up his game after the international break if Spurs are to mount a realistic title challenge this season.
Pochettino Needs To Get His Tactics And Team Selection Right
Mauricio Pochettino was praised for getting his tactics spot on in Tottenham’s 3-0 victory at Old Trafford. So it is him who should take the blame for not changing his tactics even though things were not going well for his side at Vicarage Road. The Argentine manager opted to play with three centre-halves at the back which was enough to stop the Hornets attack in the first half. However, Watford started to stretch the game more in the second half and found a way past their wing-backs and provide crosses into the box, putting enough pressure on the visitors to find a winner.
Tottenham were in need of an Eric Dier, who could have shielded the backline more effectively than what Moussa Dembele came up with on the night. Spurs will hope to put things right after the international break, but a lot will ride on whether they can rectify these mistakes.
