Swansea vs Tottenham a few quick thoughts
Dan Tracey
January 3, 2018
2,125 Views
- Tottenham may have had to play in a deluge of awful weather last night but that did not foil them in their bid for three points as they made the journey to the Liberty Stadium to face Swansea
- It was also a Spurs side that did not start with the in form Harry Kane who was still suffering the effects of illness
- He was only good for a place on the bench with a sign saying ‘bring on in case of emergencies’
- That meant that Fernando Llorente was trusted with his first Premier League start of the season for Tottenham
- While it was also a return from injury for Kenyan midfielder Victor Wanyama
- This could have meant that Eric Dier was able to drop into a back three but Mauricio Pochettino decided to opt for a back four instead
- While new Swansea boss Carlos Carvalhal opted to go for a setup of three at the back
- Only it was more like five at the back due to the fact that Tottenham had managed to pin them into their own half early on
- The conditions were nothing short of awful early on but Mauricio Pochettino’s men were still passing the ball around well as they made relatively light work of the early conditions
- And Tottenham’s early dominance would be solidified as early as the 12th minute when they managed to get their noses in front.
- A Christian Eriksen free kick from out wide was whipped in at a very inviting height and Fernando Llorente managed to steer the ball home
- There was a large suspicion of offside but luckily for the Spanish international the flag stayed down and the deadlock was broken
- A huge slice of luck but not one that Tottenham were ever going to turn down
- No celebration from Llorente, although if that was me in that weather I would be doing the biggest knee slide known to man
- Tottenham were good value for their lead in the first half but there was always the danger that by not getting a second goal they could let Swansea back into the game
- At 1-0 and going into the break the South Wales outfit were still in the encounter but they were perhaps just lacking that extra quality especially with the likes of Jan Vertonghen and Davinson Sanchez at the back for Spurs
- Sanchez would be walking something of a disciplinary after a first half booking after clattering Martin Olsson he was lucky not to be shown a second yellow card by referee Bobby Madley.
- The decision for the Colombian international to stay on the field drew the Ire of the Swansea fans
- But it was something that managed to spark their team into life as they made much more of an honest fist of the second half
- Carlos Carvalhal decided to roll the dice and bring on more attacking subs with the likes of Luciano Narsingh and Wayne Routledge bought on in the search to get a goal which would level the game
- Jordan Ayew caused some panic in Tottenham’s area when he danced around a cautious defence not wanting to give away a penalty
- He almost had an open goal in which to score into but he couldn’t quite steer the ball home
- And the South Wales outfit were inches away from levellng late on when a corner was touched onto the frame of the goal by Jan Vertonghen after a Mike van der Hoorn header
- On another night it would have gone in but this time around it bounced away to safety and Tottenham stayed in front
- The emergency glass for Harry Kane was broken in a bid to make sure Tottenham did not drop two crucial points
- And with Swansea continuing to send men forward, Kane managed to pick out an inch perfect pass to Dele Alli
- His first attempt was saved by Lukasz Fabianski but he was fortunate enough for the ball to cannon straight back off him and into the net to double his team’s advantage and wrap up the win
- Harsh on Swansea whose late rally saw them come away with empty as they are now four points clear from safety
- Well Tottenham are four points behind Liverpool in the race for fourth place and the final Champions League berth
- They face West Ham on Thursday night knowing that it is another must win game
- They may not have needed Kane all that much last night but they will certainly require him against their London rivals.
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