Tottenham beat Watford 2-0 to tighten grip on 4th in EPL

Tottenham Hotspur registered a 2-0 victory over Watford to move a step closer to sealing a top four spot in the English Premier League (EPL) football season.

With 71 points from 35 matches, Tottenham hold the final Champions League berth from the EPL by a margin of five points over fifth-place Chelsea. Both clubs have three matches left to play after Tottenham's win here on Monday, reports Efe.

Watford, who sit in 13th place, looked the better side during the first half at the Wembley Stadium, but found themselves thwarted by goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.

At the other end of the pitch, Watford keeper Orestis Karnezis bobbled what should have been an easy stop and left the ball for Tottenham's Christian Eriksen, who set up Dele Alli for the goal to put the hosts up 1-0 in the 16th minute.

The visitors continued to create chances, forcing Lloris to be sharp to stop efforts by Abdoulaye Doucoure and Richarlison, who nearly equalized for Watford in the 44th minute.

Tottenham were much improved after the break and Harry Kane made it 2-0 for the home side with a goal in the 48th minute.

"It's a massive win. It keeps us in a very good position in the top four, fantastic. I'm happy," the club's website Tottenham quoted head coach Mauricio Pochettino as saying.

"Maybe it wasn't a great performance but the most important thing was to be competitive and win the three points."

For Watford, the result means they will have to wait at least another week to get the three points they need to be sure of spending another season in the EPL.

"We had a good performance tonight and created many chances but didn't score. I cannot by happy with the result but I am happy with the performance," Watford head coach Javi Garia was quoted as saying by the club's website.

--IANS

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