If Leicester City are the sensation of the season so far, Tottenham are emerging as surprise No2. Their sixth win in succession was far more emphatic than the scoreline suggests and added to the quietly spoken suspicion that the team who now stand second in the table could yet finish on top. Kieran Trippier’s goal may have been the only difference between the teams on the scoresheet here but the Watford manager, Quique Sánchez Flores, admitted his side had been utterly overwhelmed. He, for one, has no doubt that Spurs can be champions.  “They deserve to fight for the league,” said Flores. “They play very well. They have a very clear plan. They have good technical and individual players. They defend well. They have everything needed to try to win the championship. The problem with playing against Tottenham is they have a lot variation. It’s very difficult to stop them. They have high quality, high velocity, very technical level and high power. They create space in an amazing way and it was very difficult for us to solve every problem in defence.”  Watford did their utmost to subdue their hosts. For the first time since the opening day of the season, Flores broke up the strike partnership of Odion Ighalo and Troy Deeney, with the latter starting on the bench because of a slight knock. The change allowed the visitors to deploy five across midfield in an attempt to stifle Spurs’ creativity, which promised to be bountiful, even though Dele Alli began in the dugout after his midweek illness. The plot worked only insofar as Watford made it to the interval without conceding, although Spurs’ erratic finishing played a part in that.  The home team virtually monopolised possession from kick-off and forged several chances, mainly thanks to raids by the full-backs, Trippier and Ben Davies, but also through astute passes from deep by Eric Dier. He teed up the first opening in the eighth minute with a delightful long pass to Harry Kane, who took one touch before trying to lob the advancing Heurelho Gomes, who managed to save comfortably.  The Brazilian goalkeeper made important blocks later in the half to foil Davies and Erik Lamela. But he should have been beaten in the 33rd minute when Nacer Chadli darted on to a free-kick delivered by Lamela, only to head over the bar from close range. Kane perpetrated a similar miss just before the break, volleying over after another fine pass by Dier.  The shot count read 12-1 to Spurs at half-time but no one needed telling that the blank scoresheet meant Watford’s hopes of sneaking a win on the counterattack remained intact, especially as their lone effort in the first half had almost dropped into the goal, Almen Abdi looping a shot from 25 yards out on to the roof of the net after Hugo Lloris had been caught in no man’s land.  Abdi was replaced by Deeney for the second period. Most of the play continued in the direction of the Watford goal, however, and Miguel Britos had to make a courageous block to deny Chadli in the 47th minute.  Three minutes later, Watford were grateful to the referee, Roger East, for waving away frenzied appeals for a penalty after Gomes appeared to send Kane tumbling.  Just before the hour, Trippier swung in a cross from the right that Chadli could not turn into the net. It was impossible to dodge the thought that Alli would have converted one of the chances spurned by the Belgian. Pochettino made the obvious substitution on the hour. It only took three minutes for it to pay off.  In a sweeping Spurs move, Moussa Dembélé played a lovely reverse pass to Alli on the left and Alli swished the ball across the face of goal with the outside of his boot. Trippier raced in at the back post to turn it into the net. It was the former Burnley player’s first goal since his £3.5m summer transfer to Tottenham, and the celebrations were laced with relief all around the ground.  Spurs, all too aware of the number of frustrating draws that they have endured this season, were hellbent on ensuring that Watford did not mount a comeback. The hosts continued attacking until the end and must have been frustrated not to increase their goal haul. That was the only negative aspect to another heartening performance. “We are in a very good position, but we need to keep working and don’t think too much about the future,” said Pochettino, still loth to deviate from his one-game-at-a-time mantra. “It is better to do than to speak.”
Keiran Trippier scored his first goal for Tottenham as they beat Watford 1-0 at White Hart Lane to move into second place in the Premier League