Llorente finds fortune with a head start
FOR ALL BREAKING SPORTS NEWS VISIT
IT doesn’t just rain in Swansea, it pours. Forget the drenching symbolism of Storm Eleanor over this troubled club, here they were beaten by two of their own and a referee on an off night.
Nothing to do with Harry Kane and his many hat-tricks. He spent 67 minutes on the bench, a heavy cold taking away his chance of a third treble in three games.
Instead, this was about Fernando Llorente, the striker who kept Swansea in the Premier League last season with his 15 goals. How predictable that he would score on his first league start for Tottenham, heading his old mates one step closer to the drop.
Then there was Ben Davies, the academy lad from these parts. It was his diving tackle on Jordan Ayew midway through the second half that stopped a sure equaliser.
Then there was Bobby Madley, the referee, who allowed Llorente’s goal despite a reasonably clear offside and then opted against sending off Davinson Sanchez for a crude tackle.
In a season where Swansea have done so much to shoot themselves in the foot, this was a defeat that felt slightly harsh, even against the backdrop of a first half where they were largely useless. Indeed, had they made the most of their chances in the second half, then Tottenham’s hopes of the top four would be looking a little bleak.
But on they go, rising to fifth, and down slump Swansea, bottom of the lot, clinging to the hope that Carlos Carvalhal can save them.
‘You need luck to score and win but I think it’s clear we were better and deserved the points,’ said Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino.
His counterpart Carvalhal said: ‘What I’ve seen is that I have a team with character and quality. They are brave and they fight for the points with discipline.’
On the matter of Llorente’s opening goal, Carvalhal said: ‘The linesman apologised for the (offside) goal early in the match.’
The first half played out for almost its entirety in the Swansea half, even if it did yield only a handful of chances, one of which happened to be Llorente’s goal. Christian Eriksen was the creator with a free-kick crossed from the left and Llorente got himself goal-side of Federico Fernandez and into a marginally offside position. No flag came and he did what he did so often in keeping Swansea up last season. How they miss that kind of cutting edge, how they must hate Eriksen who has now scored six and assisted five in nine league games against Swansea. Thereafter, Spurs held the vast bulk of possession but were unable to operate precisely in the rain. They almost got a second in a near identical manner to the first, with Eriksen dropping a ball over the last line for Llorente towards the end of the half, but the Spaniard volleyed clear of the bar.
Swansea’s first chance came from a Kieran Trippier backpass around the half-hour that zipped up and momentarily confused Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris.
After that point, they did get better, with a Renato Sanches free-kick dropping close and an Alfie Mawson header nudged away by Lloris.
Swansea made an attacking change shortly after the break, bringing on Luciano Narsingh for Angel Rangel.
Within minutes, Narsingh went through on goal, forcing Lloris to save with his legs.
Suddenly, there were Swansea chances all over, most notably when Ayew was prevented a shot at an open goal by a Davies lunge and when Mike van der Hoorn’s header hit the post.
They even had the injustice of referee Madley opting against giving a second booking to Sanchez for the crudest of swipes at Martin Olsson.
When your luck is out, it’s out.