WHAT WE LEARNED FROM THE SWANS’ BATTLING PERFORMANCE...
SANCHES SHOW IMPROVEMENT AS COLLEAGUES IMPRESS PAUL Clement was always likely to stick with Renato Sanches after the midfielder’s struggles on debut against Newcastle, and that faith was rewarded with an improved display.
He was twice responsible for starting Swansea counter-attacks in the opening half thanks to his ability to beat a man, and while he did give the ball away his pass completion rate was a long way up from his last outing.
Is still adjusting to the pace of the English game and he does occasionally seem to lose focus defensively, but there were further glimpses of his undoubted talent here and he did his part before being withdrawn.
It should be said his midfield colleagues Sam Clucas and Tom Carroll had fine games as they put in excellent shifts in the engine room, even if Carroll will be disappointed with his set-piece deliveries. FERNANDEZ PRODUCES A CAPTAIN’S INNINGS SWANSEA’S defenders were always likely to be in for a busy afternoon at Wembley, and so it proved. While Mike van der Hoorn and Alfie Mawson certainly played their part, the performance of Federico Fernandez was quite monumental.
There had been some surprise when he was handed the skipper’s armband for the game against Manchester United, but this was a real captain’s inning from the Argentinian.
Showed a mixture of aggression and intelligence when dealing with the constant threat and movement from the Spurs forward line and as the second half rolled on most observers had long lost count of how man vital interventions the defender had made.
One highlight was his stewarding of Son as he closed down the forward’s efforts to score a spectacular volley by cutting off the angle, as was his superb header in the first half as the same player waited behind him to capitalise on any error. He marshalled the side magnificently, and this was right up there with his best displays in a Swans shirt. SWANSEA AVOID REPEAT OF PENALTY HEARTACHE SWANSEA have had their fare share of soft penalties cost them key results away from home, certainly against the big clubs.
Indeed, it was a penalty that never was against Kyle Naughton that got the ball rolling in Tottenham’s 5-0 thrashing over Swansea last season.
And you did fear it would be a similar story here with Spurs’ desperation for a breakthrough showing itself with some blatant attempts to tempt Mike Dean into a spot kick. Alderweireld and Son were both guilty of trying to hard to win a foul that it told a tale of the hosts’ frustration.
But then came two handball shouts against Martin Olsson that Dean may well have given and Swansea had to be thankful that he either didn’t spot them or he deemed too soft.
The first saw the ball crossed and hit Olsson on the hand as he tried to move it away, yet still controlling it. The second was when it bounced up off his thigh and hit the underside of the arm. Cue screams from the home end, cue cries of relief when they were ignored. ABRAHAM STILL ADAPTING TO HOLD-UP REQUIREMENTS TAMMY Abraham showed again some of the reasons why there is hopes of him being a big hit in the Premier League.
His strength can be surprising for centre-backs and there were a few occasions where he caught Tottenham’s defenders napping.
But Abraham still needs work on his hold up play – especially on days where Swansea need to look to their frontman to relieve pressure. It was something that Bony offered as soon as he came on, giving Swansea a breather and a platform to play off as they sought the result their efforts deserved.