WHAT WE LEARNED FROM THE SWANS’ DEFEAT AT THE VITALITY

1 – Swansea have a long, anxious, pressure-building two weeks before they welcome Middlesbrough to the Liberty after this defeat that spells out things are going to be nail-biting for some while yet.

And it is becoming increasingly clear that Swansea will have to turn to their home form if they are to regain that relegation-avoiding momentum.

Swansea are struggling to find a way of playing away from home where they can remain solid enough to keep sides at bay and creative enough to make the most of good spells.

It is now four straight defeats on the road under Paul Clement, all since that incredible win at Liverpool. Granted, that includes trips to Manchester City and Chelsea, but it is the losses to Hull and now here that sting the most in the survival race. Conversely, they have won every home game since that defeat to Arsenal in Clement’s first true game in charge and they will have to raise to the challenge in front of their own fans. 2 - Some of Swansea’s recent successes have seen their improved crossing highlighted, with statistics showing the accuracy of their deliveries is the best it’s been since promotion to the Premier League. Save for the odd Sigurdsson set-piece, it let them down here. Stephen Kingsley disappointed given his reputation from the flank, as did Ayew as he struggled to make more of early openings. Indeed, it wasn’t just from wide where there were too many hopeful, wasted balls – especially once they went behind – that saw the ball quickly returned and key attackers such as Llorente and Sigurdsson isolated and frustrated. 3 – With Kyle Naughton not fit enough to be risked, the full-back crisis meant Paul Clement had to be inventive with his team selection. With no recognised right-back, it seemed at first Jack Cork would deputise given Clement had previously mentioned his belief the side’s skipper could fill th role. So it was a surprise that Fer – a player whose defensive responsibilities had been criticised earlier in the season – lined up on the right of the back four. Bournemouth took all of 20 seconds to test the Dutchman and there were several times early on that Fer seemed wholly unsure of his positioning or quite who or how to pick up his man.

To his credit, he settled into things and provided good support for Ayew ahead of him while the Cherries failed to exploit him, staying firm and using strength to good effect. It may not be a sustainable option, but he was far from an obvious weak link and can be happy with his evening. 4 – Mike Dean has rarely been flavour of the month with Swansea fans, and he continued that reputation in the game at Man City last month where he gave the soft free-kick that led to the hosts’ late winner. He was involved in a big moment once more here, flatly refusing shouts for a handball against Marc Pugh with the scores at 0-0 in the first-half. The incident, right in front of the noisy travelling support, at first looked as though Tom Carroll’s shot was too close for the Bournemouth man to get his hands out of the way, but when replays showed just how high his arms were as he looked to block the shot you wonder whether that was the moment the visitors needed Dean to smile kindly on them. 5 – The situation at the bottom is changing with every result and it’s naïve to think that Swansea can expect anything but a nervous time of it. Having looked on the slide under Sam Allardyce, Palace’s win over Watford made it three wins on the bounce, equalling the strides of Leicester to pile the pressure back on Swansea. It’s now about how they handle that as they prepare to welcome another survival rival in Boro after the international break. While it may start feeling all a little make or break, other sides are not yet clear themselves, especially Palace who have an unenviable run that includes Chelsea and Arsenal over their next three games.