Watford 0-0 Tottenham Hotspur: 5 Talking Points from the goalless draw | Premier League 2019-20
It was a frustrating day for both Watford and Tottenham Hotspur at Vicarage Road in today’s first Premier League fixture, as the two sides played out a 0-0 draw that was equal parts dull, equal parts thrilling at times.
Clear-cut chances were hard to come by for both teams, with Lucas Moura missing the first half’s best one before a couple of extremely close calls – more on those later – for both teams in the second half.
Overall, Hornets boss Nigel Pearson will likely be happier than his counterpart Jose Mourinho with the result, as it gives Watford a valuable point in their fight for survival – while keeping Spurs further away from the all-important Champions League spots.
Here are 5 talking points from the game.
#1 Pussetto saves Watford on his debut
Despite Watford dominating for great swathes of the game – particularly in the second half – it was Spurs who arguably created the better chances this afternoon, and the closest that Jose Mourinho’s side came to scoring was in the dying minutes of the game, as a nice piece of build-up play led to Serge Aurier sending a low cross into the box. Erik Lamela met the ball and flicked it goalward – but somehow, it didn’t cross the line thanks to a last-gasp clearance from Hornets debutant Ignacio Pussetto.
The Argentine – who was only signed four days ago from Serie A side Udinese – literally got there at the last possible second, as replays seemed to show that the ball had actually crossed the line, only for the Premier League’s goal-line technology to confirm that it was instead seemingly millimetres away.
Incredibly, Nigel Pearson had only sent Pussetto on when the outstanding Ismaila Sarr had to come off due to an injury, meaning that a forced substitution basically rescued a point for the Hornets here. They would’ve been unfortunate to come away with nothing, but stranger things have happened in football. Either way, the debutant made himself into an instant hero today.