Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Spurs keep Sanchez safe
MAURICIO Pochettino admitted he substituted Davinson Sanchez for fear of the Colombian being sent off in Tottenham’s 2-0 win at Swansea.
Fernando Llorente, with his first Premier League goal for Tottenham, and Dele Alli were on target as Spurs hurdled Arsenal into fifth place in the table.
But Tottenham’s fifth win in six league games was mired in controversy as Llorente was clearly standing in an offside position when he headed in Christian Eriksen’s free-kick.
Sanchez also was fortunate not to be sent off 10 minutes after half-time for scything down Martin Olsson after being booked in the first half.
“We were all worried about the second yellow card,” Pochettino said about Sanchez’s withdrawal four minutes after his foul on Olsson.
“The first half yellow card wasn’t bad, but the fans started putting pressure on the referee (Bobby Madley) and it can become a problem. So I decided to take him off the pitch.”
Llorente had not started a Premier League game since his £12 million move from Swansea in August.
But the Spain striker led the Tottenham line on his old Liberty Stadium stomping ground, with Harry Kane nursing a cold and warming the bench.
And it took Llorente just 12 minutes to claim his second Spurs goal as assistant referee Marc Perry failed to spot him standing a yard in front of the Swansea defence.
“I didn’t see the goal — people say it was offside, maybe,” Pochettino said about the incident in a game played in stormy conditions.
“But always in football, you need some luck to open the games up.”