Tottenham vs Leicester match report: Harry Kane's absence felt again as Spurs held to a draw for third straight match

Tottenham 1 Leicester City 1: Vincent Janssen's penalty was cancelled out shortly after the break by Ahmed Musa

Mauricio Pochettino reacts in frustration after Tottenham's 1-1 draw with Leicester (Getty)

It was all about goals here at White Hart Lane: the lack of them.

Tottenham and Leicester battled furiously over a share of the points in a scrappy, tetchy affair but the sparkle of last season when they fought for the title in thrilling fashion has gone awol.

They mustered a goal apiece on Saturday even if Tottenham, who struck the bar twice, could feel hard done by not to take all three points. Instead it is Spurs’ third draw in a row in the league during which time they have scored just twice.

Vincent Janssen led the line for Spurs and slammed home the penalty – dubiously awarded against Robert Huth for pulling the Dutchman down - moments before half-time. Janssen has made 15 appearances now, eight starts, and has three goals, all penalties, to show for it. Harry Kane, he of 25 league goals last season, is being missed horribly. The England striker is due to return next week when Spurs go to Arsenal (the best defence meets the most prolific attack). He will have no problem ousting Janssen.

Even so, when the Dutchman scored, Spurs had conceded four league goals all season and it felt like 1-0 might be enough – especially as Leicester have their own problems in attack.

Jamie Vardy, who has now gone 10 games without a goal, worked hard but rarely looked like ending his drought. He did, though, set up the Foxes equaliser for Ahmed Musa just after half-time.

It was Dele Alli who attempted to break the deadlock first: on 13 minutes the Spurs midfielder shot powerfully when the ball span to him from a corner but it was too close to Kasper Schmeichel who punched clear.

Kasper Schmeichel punches the ball clear as Son Heung-min leaps for a header (Getty)

Five minutes later Janssen found space in the area but took too long to shoot and was closed down by Wes Morgan. Christian Fuchs then ran into the back of Alli in the box. Alli collapsed seeking a penalty but the contact was minimal.

On the half hour Vardy’s lack of confidence screamed out when Musa played the ball perfectly into his path. The Leicester striker had timed his run to perfection to beat the Spurs defence but failed to collect the pass, the ball getting stuck under his feet. Last season, you feel, he would have pushed it on, streaked clear and rammed it home.

Two minutes later Mahrez whipped in a delicious cross with his left foot that Shinj Okazaki flicked on but the little Japanese made too much contact and the ball skimmed over the bar.

The match turned ugly as the half wore on with Wes Morgan and Huth getting to grips with their opponents – literally on occasion to the fury of Spurs. Referee Robert Madley waved play on where he could but the crowd were incensed when he chose not to book Morgan for a fractionally late challenge on Alli. They were even more riled when Danny Rose was then shown yellow for a tame tackle on Okazaki.

Vincent Janseen strikes home a penalty from the spot (Getty)

Five minutes before the break it looked like the Spurs faithful would have reason to cheer not jeer when Kyle Walker broke free down the right. He pulled his cross back for Alli arriving on the edge of the box but his strike rattled against the bar.

Moments later it was home smiles all round, though, when Spurs were gifted a penalty by Madley who seemed to buckle under the ire of the home support. A free-kick was chipped into the Leicester box by Christian Eriksen and found its way to Janssen, back to goal and Huth behind him. The German, foolishly, had his hands on the striker who collapsed under the challenge.

Huth complained long and hard while Janssen picked himself up, raced after the ball and drilled it down the middle of the goal while Schmeichel went left.

Janseen celebrates but his joy was short-lived (Getty)

Three minutes into the second half though and it was the visitors’ turn to celebrate when Victor Wanyama horribly undercooked an attempted header back to Hugo Lloris. Vardy stole in, charged down the right side of the box and squared to Ahmed Musa steaming in the back post. He beat Walker to the ball by a millisecond and took a whack in the process.

Eriksen then shot but his fellow Dane Schmeichel saved before his next effort – from Rose’s pull-back - hit Huth and span to safety. The bookings tally mounted – Vardy, Wanyama, Musa – as the game became increasingly tetchy.

Janssen nearly added a second goal midway through the half when his left-footed free-kick grazed the bar after Alli had been somewhat dubiously felled by Andy King. Alli continued to probe and play quick passes around the Leicester box as the visitors dropped deeper looking to play on the counter-attack. Janssen then rolled another effort just wide.

Jan Vertonghen almost sealed it for Spurs when his late header smacked the bar but it finished a point a piece and neither side could complain to stridently.

Spurs need Kane back, Leicester need Vardy’s mojo back.

Teams

Tottenham (4-2-3-1): Lloris; Walker, Dier, Vertonghen, Rose; Wanyama (Winks 88), Dembele; Son, Alli (Nkoudou 83), Eriksen; Janssen. Substitutes not used: Vorm, Trippier, Onomah, Davies, Carter-Vickers.

Leicester City (4-2-3-1): Schmeichel; Simpson, Morgan, Huth, Fuchs; Drinkwater, King; Mahrez (Albrighton 72), Okazaki (Ulloa 78), Musa (Schlupp 68); Vardy. Substitutes not used: Zieler, Hernandez, Amartey, Gray.

Referee: Robert Madley

Star man: Alli