Boss praises ‘brave’ Swans
Carvalhal happy with team despite Spurs sealing success at the Liberty
CARLOS Carvalhal refused to blame referee Bobby Madley for Swansea City’s defeat to Tottenham at the Liberty Stadium.
The Portuguese boss tasted defeat for the first time since taking charge of the Swans as goals from Fernando Llorente and Dele Alli condemned his side to a 2-0 loss against Mauricio Pochettino’s side in south Wales.
Carvalhal was left hugely frustrated by a host of decisions made by Madley, with former Swan Llorente appearing to be offside when he headed Spurs into a 12th-minute lead.
And the official also failed to show Davinson Sanchez a second yellow card for a late challenge on left-back Martin Olsson in the second half.
The Swansea boss was quick to approach the West Yorkshire official following the conclusion of the match, although he refused to blame Madley for his side’s defeat.
“I make mistakes as well,” said the 52-year-old after the game. “I’m very happy about my players, they were brave.”
As for Llorente, he said: “I’m very happy, we controlled the game, we played very good for the first 30 minutes. It’s not easy this game, Swansea needed to win because they are in a difficult situation and I think we played really focused and aggressive in this game.
“For us it was really important to win, to stay with the first teams in the league. They win a lot of games, and we have to win.”
Meanwhile, Swansea City target Diafra Sakho was left out of the West Ham squad for David Moyes’ side’s Premier League clash with fellow strugglers West Brom at the London Stadium.
The Senegal striker has entered the final six months of his contract with the Hammers and looks destined to leave the English capital having fallen down the pecking order under former boss Slaven Bilic and now Moyes.
Sakho has scored four goals in all competitions for the Hammers so far this season, although it is thought he is eager to move in a bid to secure regular playing time to bolster his chances of earning a place in Senegal’s squad for the upcoming World Cup in Russia.
His last appearance for West Ham came in the Carabao Cup against Arsenal on December 19.
It is thought the 28-year-old would command a fee in the region of £15m.
Report: Pages 42&43