Swansea vs. Tottenham: Winners and Losers from Premier League Game
Tottenham Hotspur fought back from twice conceding to draw 2-2 with Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium on Sunday.
After a comfortable opening 15 minutes, Tottenham fell behind suddenly and frustratingly when Jefferson Montero, a nuisance all afternoon, received the ball in the left-hand channel. Breaking into the box, the Spurs defence allowed him time to turn back onto his right foot and cross for Andre Ayew to head in. Tottenham's ball-watching back line left the Swans attacker unattended until it was too late.
Spurs were level less than 10 minutes later, when Christian Eriksen wrong-footed Lukasz Fabianski from a free-kick. The scoreline did not stay the same for long. Within a few minutes, Harry Kane's aimless hack at a Swansea corner ended up in his own net.
Kane went close to making amends shortly after the interval, but it was Swansea who looked more lively in the opening period of the second-half, the home side continuing to threaten their visitors.
Spurs needed a lift, and Eriksen was the man to deliver again. Jonjo Shelvey brought down Dele Alli to the left of the box, leaving the Denmark international to size up another dead-ball situation. He picked his spot and fired again past the helpless Fabianski.
Eriksen and substitute Andros Townsend gave the Polish goalkeeper more to worry about as Spurs upped the pressure in search of a winner. It was Swansea who would go closest, however, with Federico Fernandez's header from a Ki Sung-yueng free-kick forcing a tremendous save from Hugo Lloris.
Read on for the winners and losers from this Premier League clash.
Winner: Swansea Width
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Having seen their lack of width both expose them defensively and result in minimal attacking threat in last week's 3-1 defeat at Southampton, Garry Monk naturally sought to rectify this against Tottenham.
The return of Montero to his starting XI was an obvious correction, but one still requiring an effort from the winger more akin to his appearances in the season's opening month.
Montero responded, causing right-back Kyle Walker no shortage of problems. Although only four of his 10 take-on attempts came off, per Squawka, the larger effect of his putting Spurs on the defensive helped Swansea establish themselves.
Ayew was less problematic in one-on-ones for left-back Ben Davies and quieter overall. What he did provide out right was greater space for Bafetimbi Gomis to duke it out with the Spurs defence—stretching them more than they would have liked—and when the Ghana international moved inside, he took the one chance that came his way.
Aided by a lack of attention from the opposing centre-backs, his superbly guided header from Montero's centre gave the attacker his fourth goal this season.
Swansea were not so dangerous in the latter part of the second-half, with Montero, Ayew and Gomis more successfully shut down. The challenge for Monk will be finding a way to bring more consistency out of the expansive game that best suits his team's passing preferences.
Loser: Harry Kane
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A week after scoring his first Tottenham goal of the season, Kane suffered the ignominy of netting one at his own end at the Liberty Stadium. Positioned at the near post in anticipation of heading the Swansea corner clear, his attempt to hoof away the under-hit delivery backfired spectacularly.
Eriksen's second equaliser ensured Kane's mistake was not too costly. Yet it was an unhelpful setback for a player who, despite getting off the mark in the win over Manchester City, is still battling to regain his form of last season.
Kane worked as hard as ever. Dropping deep to link up play and win the ball back, driving his team forward and looking to test Fabianski. The striker was especially unlucky not to score early in the second-half when the goalkeeper raced off his line to close him down.
If anything, Kane is forcing things too much right now. Desperately and understandably trying to recreate his best work, sometimes at the expense of more sensible decision-making.
Maintaining a considerable work ethic while still conjuring the almost carefree blasts of brilliance that so delighted Spurs supporters last season is a delicate balance. But it is one he must attempt to strike.
Winner: Christian Eriksen
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Eriksen scored Tottenham's winner at the Liberty Stadium last season, and the attacking midfielder was again instrumental in avoiding what could have been a much more frustrating day for his team.
Since recovering from injury, the Dane has been feeling his way back into things. He set up Spurs' winner against Crystal Palace and probed positively enough, if fruitlessly, against Man City. He was off the pace versus Arsenal in the Capital One Cup, though, and was just as much a passenger defensively at Monaco on Thursday.
Things came together more satisfactorily against Swansea in what was easily his best game yet in 2015-16. His passing was crisper and more purposeful, while he looked far more committed to contributing to Spurs' attempts to apply pressure up the field.
The undoubted highlights were those free-kicks. Brilliant reminders of his ability to summon something special when his team needs him.
"I know the keeper will either stay or go behind his wall and I saw him take a step so I hit it that side," Eriksen told Spurs' official Twitter page of his first, before outlining the deception behind his second. "It was wider but I thought he'd think I was going top left so I hit it hard towards the top right."
Per OptaJoe, the 23-year-old's six direct free-kick goals are more than anyone else in the Premier League has scored since his debut just over two years ago. Spurs will be hoping he can add more of them post-international break in the process of delivering performances as good as Sunday's.
Loser: Both Teams Miss out on Pre-International-Break Boost
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"We are disappointed," Tottenham head coach Mauricio Pochettino told the official Spurs Twitter account following his side's 2-2 draw. "We have to accept it but be proud of our performances."
Having twice been behind, a draw is not too bad a result for Spurs.
They remain unbeaten in the Premier League since the opening day and showed commendable resilience in coming back to earn a point. In the event of the loss, they could have easily pointed to nine of the same 11 players who played in the Europa League on Thursday starting again—with Clinton Njie and Townsend again also coming off the bench.
Instead, they went to work and were a little unfortunate not to take the lead late on. Nonetheless, after thrashing Manchester City 4-1 in their last league game, missing out on a fourth-straight win heading into the international break will be of some frustration.
"We wanted to get back on track, and the players were excellent today," Pochettino's counterpart, Monk, told Swansea's official Twitter page, adding. "We have had a couple of performances below our standard, but we were back at it today."
Despite their much-improved performance, the fact that there will be no match action for two weeks will prevent Swansea from building some momentum. That is something that will make missing out on the greater cushion of an extra couple of points as frustrating for them as it will be Spurs.
Winner: England Midfield Men Alli and Shelvey
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Shelvey will rue his foul on Alli leading to his team conceding a second equaliser. It was an unwelcome mark against an otherwise typically influential performance pulling the strings for his team in midfield, the 23-year-old enjoying the greater options around him
Learning from his error, he more sensibly outmaneuvered Alli later on to secure a goal-kick for his side. Both named in Roy Hodgson's latest England squad, it was intriguing to see the two cross paths as part of the day's midfield battle.
Alli's good form and burgeoning reputation—strengthened by another impressively mature and aggressive outing in Wales—earned him the call-up despite having played just once for the under-21s.
"It was an opportunity now, with the absence of quite a few players in the central midfield area, to have a look at him," Hodgson told the Football Association's website this week. "Going forward if he continues his rate of progress he could be very interesting for us."
Shelvey will hope it is not so interesting as to detract from his own chances of building a successful international career, the elder (slightly) player having played well in England's last games.
On the basis of their participation in this draw, the national team should get plenty out of them both in the months and years to come if they can continue to perform.
They are definitely two of the brighter, more intelligent young English midfielders in the Premier League right now. The competition between themselves and their peers will only fire them on if they have the right sort of character and determination.
