Watford 0 Tottenham 0: Gazzaniga rescues Spurs in drab draw

Tottenham were unable to break down Watford and were grateful to Paulo Gazzaniga for claiming a point.

Jose Mourinho's men have suffered a significant drop in form in recent weeks, and now have just one win from their last six league games.

Troy Deeney saw a penalty saved as Tottenham's Premier League winless run extended to four matches with an uninspiring 0-0 draw at Vicarage Road.

Jose Mourinho's men have suffered a significant drop in form in recent weeks, and now have just one win from their last six league games following a dour stalemate with Nigel Pearson's relegation-threatened side.

With Christian Eriksen not introduced until the 73rd minute as links with Inter persist and loan signing Gedson Fernandes left on the bench until the 80th minute, a Tottenham team missing the injured Harry Kane lacked the creativity to break Watford down.

 

It did, however, almost grab an underserved win in stoppage time with goalline technology ruling Ignacio Pussetto had managed by the smallest margin to clear Erik Lamela's bundled effort away to safety.

Watford's best chance came when Jan Vertonghen handballed inside the area but Deeney's spot-kick was well saved by Gazzaniga.

Spurs moves up to seventh, eight points off the top four, while Watford - now unbeaten in six league games - is 16th, two points clear of the drop zone as its revival under Pearson continued.

Mourinho will have been satisfied with his side's defensive performance in a low-key first half, having seen it previously record just one clean sheet since he took over in November.

However, Spurs' lack of an attacking spark must have served as a concern for the Portuguese, with Lucas Moura the only player to fashion a chance of real note, the Brazil international denied by the onrushing Ben Foster after being played in by Dele Alli.

 

It was Watford which took the initiative after the restart, though, and Abdoulaye Doucoure and Ismaila Sarr wasted close-range chances before Deeney saw an effort deflected wide.

Son Heung-min curled over on the break for Spurs, which was granted a significant reprieve in the 70th minute when Deeney failed from 12 yards. 

Vertonghen blocked a Gerard Deulofeu shot with his hand and Michael Oliver duly pointed to the spot, only for Gazzaniga to make a low save to his right from Deeney's poor penalty.

Lamela came agonisingly close to securing all three points as he looked to bundle home Serge Aurier's low cross, but debutant Pussetto cleared the ball just before it crossed the line to deal Spurs another setback in its quest for Champions League football.