Pochettino hails “nearly perfect” Spurs win over Watford

Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino was effusive with praise for his side after a thoroughly dominant 4-1 win over Watford in a wet, miserable Vicarage Road stadium. Harry Kane and Dele Alli both scored two goals each, and the match was never really in doubt.

In a press conference after the match, Poch told the media that he thought it was one of Spurs’ best performances of the season.

"I am very pleased with the performance, the first half was great. I think it was one of the best performances so far.

"It was nearly the perfect game. The shame was we conceded a goal in the last minute but there were a lot of positive things.

"I think because we scored from the beginning in the end we controlled and created some chances.

"You can feel in that moment the game was over after 33 minutes."

This 4-1 win felt almost diametrically in opposition to Wednesday’s 4-1 win over Southampton, a match where despite the scoreline Spurs didn’t look like their best. Against Watford, Spurs controlled the match from the opening kick and never took their foot off the gas until after the fourth goal. And they did it without first team starters such as Kyle Walker, Mousa Dembele, and Jan Vertonghen.

“Near perfect” is perhaps a little strong when Spurs conceded a derpy goal off of a scrum in front of the box and nearly another one after Hugo Lloris spilled a challenged ball that required a last-minute clearance from Eric Dier. However, there’s no question it was an excellent performance, certainly one of the best since Spurs’ win over Manchester City in October. They’ll need that kind of performance on Wednesday when Chelsea comes to White Hart Lane.