Swansea 1-2 Tottenham: Eriksen’s rescue act stuns Swans
Christian Eriksen’s dramatic late strike snatched all three points for Tottenham against Swansea at The Liberty stadium.
The Dane’s stylish finish two minutes from time sends Mauricio Pochettino’s side above the Welsh outfit into seventh, four points adrift of the Champions League places.
Harry Kane broke the deadlock with a towering header, but Wilfried Bony’s composed strike early in the second half pulled the hosts level.
Swansea will rue some wasteful finishing and an in-form Hugo Lloris as Garry Monk’s side slip one place to ninth, while Kane could have doubled his tally with a glancing header late-on.
The visitors made a blistering start and took the lead after just three minutes as Kane rose highest to meet Eriksen’s deep corner with a thumping header beyond the diving Gerhard Tremmel.
Moments later, Wayne Routledge’s inch-perfect pass released Bony after a slick one-touch move from the Jacks, but Lloris was equal to the drilled effort. Kane then had an attempt from distance, after Eriksen and Roberto Soldado traded an inventive combination of passes, but the 21-year-old dragged his shot wide.
Tottenham then had Ben Davies to thank after the former-Swansea youngster timed a determined last-ditch challenge on Bony to perfection to deny the in-form striker, before Routledge’s teasing cross narrowly evaded the 26-year-old.
Worryingly for Mauricio Pochettino’s men Bony continued to find space inside the box, although Lloris proved a worthy adversary; twice thwarting the Ivorian forward.
Spurs' appeals for a penalty five minutes from the break were ignored by referee Robert Madley after a collision between Jefferson Montero and Kane, before Swansea spurned their best chance of the half as Bony’s swivelling strike was bravely blocked by Federico Fazio.
But the hosts equalised within two minutes of the restart, courtesy of a composed finish from Bony. Routledge and Angel Rangel combined effectively down the right before the former Spurs winger picked out the striker inside the six-yard area, who converted his eighth league goal of the campaign at the second attempt.
Swansea began to pile on the pressure, with Ki Sung-yueng’s glancing header fizzing over the crossbar, while Kane and Ryan Mason responded with speculative efforts for Tottenham.
Bony continued to cause havoc among Spurs’ backline, scampering in behind at will and linking with fluid midfielder runners, before Gylfi Sigurdsson’s curling effort crept agonisingly wide.
The Swans began to turn the screws on their north London opponents, with Lloris twice called into action to prevent Shelvey - following a fine passing move - and Montero in quick succession.
Spurs then almost snatched the lead against the run of play when Kane’s instinctive header squirted wide but, after riding the Welsh storm, they managed to clinch a dramatic winner with Eriksen’s precise finish.
The 22-year-old Dane was brilliantly picked out by Davies, before performing a neat turn and strike on the edge of the area, sending an arrowed strike into the bottom corner.