Antonio Conte has claimed that Tottenham deserved the three points following a narrow 1-0 win over Watford but called for his side to improve the quality of their final ball.
Tottenham claimed an important victory in the New Year’s Day fixture, but had to wait deep into second-half stoppage-time for a headed winner from Davinson Sanchez.
Despite dominating the majority of the ball, the win at Vicarage Road didn’t come in easy circumstances as Conte’s men struggled to break down a resolute Watford defence.
The Hornets were content to sit deep into their own half – inviting Spurs to attack – and were able to limit the away side to a number of low-quality chances.
Conte believed his side deserved to take home the points in the end, but called for an improvement in the final third going forward.
He said (via Football.London): “With these kinds of games, if you can score early then the plan of your opponent has to change.
“I think today we controlled the game and we had a lot of possession and in the first half I have seen the stats and we made 29 crosses.
“I think that we have to improve in the last pass, to have more quality because the last pass means whether you score or not.
“I think we were very good to have the right passion and not lose the balance.
“When you find a well-organised team you can become a bit nervous if you don’t score but I think in the end we deserved to win.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Spurs had to grind out the win for this one and had a lot of trouble breaking down the Watford back line.
A whipped free-kick was one of few options that would have won the game for Spurs, but ultimately the performance will need to be improved upon to avoid a future struggle.
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