Tottenham Hotspur Look More Like Their Old Selves in Thrashing of Swansea City
WHITE HART LANE, London — Dividing football seasons up is open to interpretation. Whether month-by-month, season-by-season or something more within the parameters of the sport, there are blocks in the campaign offering both unwelcome interruptions and fresh starts.
Tottenham Hotspur suffered from the former when an international break followed an invigorating win over title rivals Manchester City in October. After a tough couple of months and three high-pressure London derbies, they are hoping Saturday's 5-0 thrashing of Swansea City signals the start of the latter.
This is not to underplay what is ahead for manager Mauricio Pochettino and his side, looking more like their old selves in this comfortable victory.
A win in their final Champions League group match against CSKA Moscow would at least end an otherwise disappointing campaign on a high note. Securing a place in the Europa League ahead of the Russian outfit is also important in keeping alive a chance of silverware and an accompanying Champions League place, not to mention further opportunities to adjust to temporary venue Wembley Stadium ahead of next season's scheduled full-time stay.
Following that in the Premier League is a mouthwatering fixture away at Manchester United. Pochettino's Spurs had some good battles with Jose Mourinho's Chelsea prior to his leaving, and similar will be expected against the Portuguese's inconsistent but exceptionally talented Red Devils team.
After exiting the Champions League and suffering a winless run only punctuated by the dramatic comeback win over West Ham United a fortnight earlier, Tottenham needed this against Swansea. It was the perfect start to a period that the significance of which is seemingly not lost on the players.
Post-match Eric Dier, again playing at centre-back in the absence of Toby Alderweireld, referenced the recent 2-1 loss to league leaders Chelsea. Although only Tottenham's first defeat in the competition, coupled with their previous dry run, it has left them needing a strong Christmas to keep up with the division's pacesetters.
This is another of those season-dividing moments, quite often one of its most important.
Excel during this packed schedule, and Spurs could be right among the contenders by the time they face Antonio Conte's men again on 4 January. Underwhelm, and their year quickly loses a lot of its optimism.
Swansea took the brunt of this all-around refocusing on Spurs' part.
"Today was a different kind of test," manager Bob Bradley said, looking back to their thrilling 5-4 win over Crystal Palace a week earlier. "And for sure in part it's because Tottenham have gone through a stretch where they weren't totally satisfied, so today they really came after us in a strong way."
The north Londoners reaction to this unsatisfying stretch could be seen at its tail end. For a good 40 minutes on Nov. 26, they challenged and resisted the in-form Chelsea.
There was more intensity to their offensive engagement, in and out of possession, than had been seen since the Man City win. After the abject display against AS Monaco, there was improvement in their defensive work too.
That Spurs could not make it last 90 minutes only reinforced the need to get things right against Swansea.
"It's been a good week," Pochettino told Tottenham's official website beforehand. "It was good to stop the ball and to spend time together, to work on different concepts, which has been impossible before, and to realise where we are and what we need to improve.
"We've spoken a lot, had meetings and the response of the players has been fantastic. Now we have to show we're ready to compete against Swansea.
Once again in the 4-2-3-1 formation they had returned to against Chelsea, Tottenham looked ready from the first whistle. From there, they did not let up in a patient but determined display.
Beyond the obvious three points, how much they should take from the afternoon is debatable. Swansea were poor, the worst side to visit White Hart Lane since Sunderland in September.
With playmaker and former Spur Gylfi Sigurdsson leading the line, they lacked a focal point, someone who could unsettle the Spurs defence and buy time for others to get forward. This changed slightly with the second-half introduction of Fernando Llorente, but by then, they were being undermined by a near-total disinterest in closing the home side down and competing for second balls.
Tottenham took advantage.
Inconsistently pressed, centre-backs Dier and Jan Vertonghen had ample time to direct play from the back. As the game progressed, the midfield and attack had increasing space further forward to pass around and launch runs too.
It is rare to have a game when you know more goals are ahead. But by the time Christian Eriksen bundled in their fourth and the first of two for him, it had become so easy they barely bothered to celebrate.
While plaudits and excitement should be tempered for a performance that did not require their utmost energy, there was still plenty to like about Tottenham's work.
Although not needing to be as relentless as they were against Chelsea, their hunting down of Swansea facilitated much of their sustained pressure. Bradley was well aware it was coming but did not expect his side would be so powerless to stop it.
"Of the games so far for me, that's the team that comes after you the hardest and puts you under the most pressure, and we were certainly expecting that," he said in his post-match press conference. "When they pressed us, we weren't able to play the first pass out of pressure, and so in that respect, there's a lot there to look at as a target for how we need to get better."
Recovering the ball so often, Tottenham had time to figure out how to get through without fear of repercussions.
In the first half, that was exploiting poorly protected wide areas.
Full-backs Danny Rose and Kyle Walker got forward uninhibited, frequently teaming with Eriksen and Heung-Min Son to deliver crosses for a main target of Harry Kane. Swans goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski just beat the striker to one with a punch, then saved a near-post header from him before later denying Walker after he cut in following a faked centre.
Spurs gradually realised Swansea's protection of central areas was growing lax too. After the interval, they went through the middle more directly, but the acceleration of their superiority came via an outside-inside attack, resulting in a controversial outcome.
Rose moved into the Swansea half down the left flank and spotted Kane inside. Dele Alli moved ahead of him, and the centre-forward sent him into the left-hand side of the penalty area.
From the press box, it was inconclusive. Viewing from a little closer but still far away, Pochettino pleaded ignorance—he was also rushed off in his press conference before he could be pressed on the matter—and Bradley had his suspicions and was hesitant to say for sure.
Television replays were unequivocal. Alli blatantly dived under no discernible contact from ex-Spur Kyle Naughton, conning referee Jonathan Moss into winning a penalty.
The midfielder has attempted to cheat before and either got nothing or been punished. For instance, he was booked against Fiorentina in last season's Europa League, causing him to miss the next round's first leg against Borussia Dortmund. Here he was blatant and got away with it, with Kane converting the consequent spot-kick.
It is a shame it happened like this. Alli's otherwise vibrant play exemplified an attack enjoying themselves and trying things they had been unable or unwilling to do in more stressful recent weeks.
Mousa Dembele was looking closer to last season's model, inviting tackles then spinning away with that galling simplicity. Eriksen's passing was off at times, but his intent was more positive—as was the positioning that led to his brace.
Kane enjoyed the greater space and service presented to him than in the preceding losses to Monaco and Chelsea. Even Moussa Sissoko—criticised by Pochettino recently, per BBC Sport—played well off the bench, setting up Eriksen's match-sealing goal.
Then there was Son.
He described his superb scissor kick to make it 2-0 as the "best goal of my career." It was deserving of such status. An improvised moment of brilliance to conclude a sweeping Spurs break, it will go down as one of the best White Hart Lane has seen in recent times.
"I am happy because we needed after Monaco and Chelsea a good victory like today," Pochettino said of his side's overall performance. "I think it's good always because it’s important to get three points, to be close to the top and in a very good position. I think we have ahead a very important game now, and it's important to build up the confidence in us again."
It was not clear whether Pochettino was referring to the CSKA Moscow or Manchester United match. Either way, it does not matter.
Tottenham reminded themselves against Swansea what they are capable of. With plenty of opportunities coming up, the title hopefuls must show they can produce consistently.
Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
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