Tottenham Hotspur got back on form with a resounding 5-0 win over Swansea thanks to braces from Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen, writes Iain Macintosh.
After a run of just one win in 10 games, this was the fixture that Tottenham needed to get their season back on track. Swansea City, excellent against Everton and successful — if rather less excellent — in a 5-4 win against Crystal Palace, were swept aside at White Hart Lane. The Swans were beaten 5-0 and offered minimal resistance in the process. Spurs needed no encouragement to take advantage.
For too long this winter, Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs side have been all too reminiscent of Andre Villas-Boas’ Spurs side, or at least the one without Gareth Bale: Good players in a good shape doing good things, but because of dwindling confidence, doing them at about 75 percent of the tempo required. But Swansea, sitting deep and compact, barely crossing the halfway line and failing to put a shot on or off target in the entire first half, were perfect practice dummies.
And yet it seemed as though the home side might be at a disadvantage from an early stage. Neil Taylor’s boot meeting Kyle Walker’s face held up the game for some time as the Spurs’ medics worked on what can only be described as multiple injuries. But Walker proved surprisingly durable and, if anything, the incident seemed to boost his performance. Twice, midway through the first half, he came close to breaking the deadlock, swinging in piercing crosses from the right.
In the event, the deadlock was broken in rather more controversial circumstances. Former Spurs full-back Kyle Naughton challenged Dele Alli on the edge of the box; Alli went flying and referee Jonathan Moss awarded a penalty. Swansea’s players were furious. In the technical area, coach Alan Curtis had some colourful observations to share with fourth official Andy Woolmer. But Moss’s mind was made up. Kane lashed the penalty home.
If there was doubt as to the legitimacy of the first goal, there were no such questions of the second. Tottenham, growing in confidence now, swept up the field moving the ball across the penalty area until Son Heung-Min dispatched it past Fabianski with an emphatic scissor kick. Chasing the game, Swansea replaced fiery midfielder Jay Fulton with Fernando Llorente (or Fernando Morientes, if you choose to believe Tottenham’s public announcer). It made no difference. Three minutes after the restart, Spurs were three goals to the good. A fine counter-attack, a driving run from Son and then, when it was so generously teed up for him, a powerful finish from Kane.
Worse was to come for Swansea. A move that started with Mousa Dembele crumbling to the ground in pain and that developed when Harry Kane was tackled, but won the ball back as he stumbled over, ended with the scrappiest of finishes from Christian Eriksen. Victor Wanyama should have ended a fifth, but inexplicably failed to make contact with a slow moving ball in front of an empty net. Eriksen, in injury time, made up for it by sliding home again to make it 5-0.
How Tottenham missed Harry Kane. Just as a good goalkeeper can swell the confidence of his defenders, a striker like Kane gives belief to the men behind him. He is the focal point that poor Vincent Janssen is not. He offers the drive and physicality than Heung-Min Son cannot. He always makes the runs the midfielders demand and, whether he’s in good form or poor, he’ll never shirk from a shot.
His second goal here was his seventh in six games and his 56th in 95 appearances, but he’s more than just a goal scorer. Even in his last minute on the pitch, he was still chasing down full-backs and blocking their passes. Little wonder he was afforded a standing ovation upon his 86th minute withdrawal.
If Spurs can keep him fit for the rest of the season, and if this thumping victory really does restore their confidence, there’s no reason why they can’t claw their way back into the title race.
Four points in their last two games made a compelling argument that Swansea might have found their way under Bob Bradley, but they’re reaching for the map again now.
The Welsh side only brought half a game plan to White Hart Lane; defending in tight, compact lines, but failing to do any of the counter-attacking that such a tactic requires. The first half brought no opportunities and so the second half saw the arrival of two extra strikers. But by the time Fernando Llorente and Borja Baston had joined the fray, the game was all but over. Even with them on the pitch, Swansea’s total threat amounted to a solitary shot from outside the box, which was blocked.
Long before the end, the Swansea defence lost their faith, their runners and subsequently even more goals. Bradley must have thought he’d made a breakthrough, but he now finds himself right back where he started.
Next week, Swansea host Sunderland and while that might once have looked like a great opportunity for three points, the Black Cats have now won three of their last four games. Swansea had better improve markedly over the next seven days.
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