Christian Eriksen was once again the hero as the Dane popped up to snatch a last minute winner away at Swansea City.
Just like he did against Hull a few weeks back, Eriksen worked himself into space in front of a solid Swans back four to drive the ball home to hand Spurs yet another 3 points in Wales.
He had earlier instigated our opener when his swinging corner found the head of Harry Kane who beat Tremmel after just 4 minutes.
But Swansea were level just after the break, when former Spur Wayne Routledge’s cross was turned in by Wilfried Bony at the second attempt.
Both sides exchanged blows as the feisty encounter reached boiling point, and Pochettino was lucky to keep all 11 men on the field after Lamela and Vertonghen could have both seen red for different altercations.
But, the game ended to the sound of Spurs voices as Eriksen won it in front of the travelling fans.
Player Ratings
Hugo Lloris 6 – Didn’t have a lot to do on his 100th appearance, and Bony’s strike was too close to the goal for him to be able to act upon. We only have one clean sheet in 10 but none of that is Hugo’s fault.
Kyle Walker 7 – It was incredible to have this guy back on the pitch. It came at the perfect time, too, as Jefferson Montero played brilliantly on the left wing for Swansea so these two had a huge battle. Walker ended up on the winning side, and rightly so for being such a useful asset.
Federico Fazio 6 – Has come under a lot of criticism following his shaky start but Fazio’s good moments are certainly forgotten too quickly. He eventually picked up on Bony’s early movement after the Ivorian had ruled the first half.
Jan Vertonghen 6 – Much the same as Fazio but his composure on the ball makes him less susceptible to criticism. The centre-halves were not tight enough for the majority of the game but Bony was kept largely at bay.
Ben Davies 7 – Largely thanks to this guy. His last-ditch sliding tackle on Bony was Ledley King-esque and saved a certain goal against his old club. Looked superb going forward and saw a good effort saved by Tremmel.
Ryan Mason 6 – Quiet display from the breakthrough midfielder and he was subbed 10 minutes after the hour. Neither he or Bentaleb protected the back 4 enough in the first half but going forward he was excellent.
Nabil Bentaleb 7 – Wonderfully composed player and put in a great shift today. As mentioned, the duo didn’t sit deep enough to start with but Bentaleb ran for 90 minutes, challenging everything.
Erik Lamela 6 – Just like Fazio he is so vulnerable to criticism because of his Prima Donna style of play. But Lamela did not stop running today, and surely covered as much ground as anyone on the pitch. If he made his game more simplistic he would be fantastic but he couldn’t bet his man today.
Christian Eriksen 8 – My Man of the Match. He delivered the good yet again and this time he wasn’t invisible until the 90th minute. He was our most creative player going forward and he showed why selling Gylfi Sigurdsson was not in vain. Excellent corner, excellent goal.
Harry Kane 7 – Would have been Man of the Match if it weren’t for Eriksen’s last minute heroics. Was too tired to run at the end of the game, and once again was our most forward-thinking player. Wonderful header to open the scoring, too.
Roberto Soldado 4 – Another non-starter. He did absolutely nothing again, and was subbed early on.
SUBS
Mousa Dembele 7 – Performed well when he came on, providing some physicality to the midfield.
Benjamin Stambouli 6 – Filled the gap in front of the back 4 easily. Great sub by Poch. Dembele was allowed to bomb on forward.
Nacer Chadli N/a
