1. Pochettino is getting the balance right for now
It’s now two consecutive wins for Spurs on Sundays after playing on Thursday in the Europa League because Mauricio Pochettino has been carefully managing his squad between the two competitions to improve on Tottenham’s woeful record the weekend after their European exertions.
This time, most of the players who started in this game did not even travel to Besiktas for the Europa League game last Thursday. They were fresh for this game and Swansea’s dominance for large portions of the game is simply because the Welsh side were better on the day.
It would be interesting to see which competition the Argentine manager will prioritise when the Europa League reconvenes next February since there are chances in both competitions to get into the Champions League.
2. One step forward and another step back for the Swans
Swansea were disappointing at West Ham before this game in terms of the way they used the ball. They rectified that in this game as they were in the front foot for large swathes of game and they created a lot of good chances.
That progress though was ruined by defensive mistakes that are not typical of Swansea this season. A couple of players were culpable for the opening goal as Angel Rangel was flat-footed when Harry Kane scored the first goal, while Roberto Soldado was also unmarked after easily peeling away from Swansea’s players to wait for what could have been a free header.
For the second goal, Jazz Richards’ careless clearance allowed former Swansea defender Ben Davies to set up Christian Eriksen’s low drive from 20 yards. Jonjo Shelvey could have helped but he was shockingly walking back from the wrong side of play.
That was even more shocking from a Swansea player given Garry Monk’s renowned extra effort this season in improving his side’s recovery time from offensive positions to a defensive shape.
3. Lamela cannot allow players to get under his skin like he did here
Monk was understandably unhappy that Erik Lamela went unpunished for what were several poor challenges, including a swinging arm which left Swansea’s Jefferson Montero prostrate on the floor in the first-half.
From the moment Lamela and Jefferson Montero seemed to have a tasty conversation in the opening half, the Argentine winger became over exuberant with his challenges, particularly on Montero. Players eventually pick up on these weaknesses and, if this trend continues, teams will end up deliberately trying to rattle the winger in the opening exchanges to get him out of the game.
4. Bony is still the best outside the top bracket but Kane is snapping at the Ivorian striker’s heels
The top three clubs in the league obviously have the best strikers in the division and Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez completes the top bracket of strikers, but Wilfried Bony keeps showing that he is the best of the lot outside the big boys’ squad, despite missing a couple of good chances in this game.
Harry Kane has rapidly developed over the last 12 months and he is a joy to watch with his confidence, hunger and work-rate, but Bony is still ahead of the young English forward because of the his predatory instincts.
Bony’s movement in the final-third freed up pockets of space for him in this game, which made it easier for Swansea’s midfielders to pick him out in what seemed to be a crowded area. That elusive movement should come with experience for Kane but the England Under-21 international has already proven that he is a quick learner so he is bound to have that in his locker sooner rather than later.
5. Kyle Walker still needs more game time
Walker was making his first league start since 8 March following abdominal surgery. Despite a midweek outing against Besiktas, he was still rusty against the Swans.
His first pass went straight to Bony and he was booked within 15 minutes. A series of further fouls meant he was a shade lucky to avoid a red card. He still needs more time.
