There can be no doubt that Tottenham have the defence to win the title, given that it has taken them 10 matches to concede from open play this season, but Mauricio Pochettino needs his team to be as slick up front as they are stingy at the back if they are going to last the pace.

This was another blunt attacking performance from Tottenham, who lost ground on their rivals at the top after one slip allowed Leicester to cancel out Vincent Janssen’s penalty.

Strange though it sounds to say that Pochettino has constructed the best defence in England after a game that featured the lively Ahmed Musa capitalising on Victor Wanyama’s error to earn Leicester their first away point of the season, to argue otherwise would be disingenuous. Instead that loss of concentration reminded Spurs that teams are always vulnerable when their attack does not carry enough of a threat.

Tottenham have scored 14 goals, nine fewer than Arsenal and City, and although they are likely to improve when Harry Kane recovers from his knee injury, Pochettino wants his creative players to play with more aggression and belief in the final third. “We need to be more clinical,” Tottenham’s manager said. “We need to score more.”

It is not a crisis. Spurs remain unbeaten, after all. But they have gone five games without a victory in all competitions, failing to win since outclassing City at the start of the month, and they have scored twice in their past three league matches. While Pochettino’s side had chances, hitting the woodwork in both halves, there was never a sense that Leicester were under siege.

This was a return to the solidity of last season from the champions. Organised and determined, the willingness of Claudio Ranieri’s players to throw their bodies in the way of countless shots heightened Tottenham’s frustration and ensured that Leicester were able to begin the healing process after their dramatic collapses at Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United.

Despite falling behind when Robert Huth’s foul presented Janssen with the opportunity to give Tottenham the lead from the penalty spot shortly before half-time, Leicester responded impressively instead of switching their focus to Wednesday’s trip to FC Copenhagen and Ranieri praised his team’s spirit, which was typified by Danny Drinkwater’s urgency in midfielder. The Italian was a vocal presence in the technical area, hollering at his players, urging them to keep their shape and discipline, and scowling whenever someone ignored his instructions.

Neither side had anything more than half an eye on their midweek Champions League assignments and the game was full of crunching tackles, energetic running and furious pressing, but there was a need for a change of pace at times, someone to put a foot on the ball and introduce some subtlety.

All that blood and thunder made the search for space elusive. Dele Alli crashed a shot against the bar and saw another saved by Kasper Schmeichel. Yet Spurs lacked fluency without their Argentinian midfielder Erik Lamela, who was missing with illness. Son Heung-min probed without success and Christian Eriksen was poor, disappointing with his set-piece deliveries.

Leicester looked to Riyad Mahrez for inspiration, regularly working the ball to the right flank in the first half. Danny Rose kept him quiet, however, save for the moment when the Algerian whipped in a cross that Shinji Okazaki glanced narrowly over. Christian Fuchs also rammed a volley over after Mahrez picked him out with a corner.

Tottenham’s breakthrough arrived when Huth, playing with fire, was penalised for hauling Janssen down after an Eriksen free-kick reached the striker after a spot of head tennis.

Huth has never been a defender who respects the personal space of his opponents, although Ranieri felt that Janssen initiated the contact and fell softly. The referee, Robert Madley, pointed to the spot, though, and Janssen beat Schmeichel with a firm finish. Leicester have conceded 14 goals in their first five away games.

Despite prodding wide in the second half, though, Janssen rarely looked mobile enough to lead the line for Spurs. He has scored three penalties since his £17m move from AZ Alkmaar and will need time to adapt to English football, yet the 22-year-old has struggled to fill in for Kane.

Although Pochettino said that he is “really happy” with Janssen, he could do with the player he called his main striker. The manager said that Kane has a 50% chance of returning against Bayer Leverkusen at Wembley on Wednesday and a better one of being involved in the much-anticipated visit to Arsenal next Sunday. Tottenham need him fit as soon as possible.

Leicester’s attacking edge will be sharper when Jamie Vardy regains his touch in front of goal. He has gone 11 games without scoring and miscontrolled when Musa sent him clear in the first half.

Vardy has plenty of other qualities, however, and he played a key role in Leicester’s equaliser early in the second half, racing clear on the right after Wanyama’s careless header and crossing for Musa, who forced the ball past Hugo Lloris at the far post.

As a measure of how difficult it is to score against Spurs from open play, perhaps nothing sums it up better than the way Musa had to put his body on the line. The winger briefly lay in a heap in the back of the net after colliding with Lloris, but it was worth the pain. Although Jan Vertonghen sent a late header against the bar, Tottenham could have used some of Musa’s persistence in attack.

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