Swansea City were denied a first win since August 30 by Christian Eriksen's free kick as they drew 2-2 with Tottenham Hotspur in a pulsating match at the Liberty Stadium on Sunday.
Spurs had not lost to the Swans since 1991 but that record looked in doubt when Andre Ayew headed the hosts in front after 16 minutes.
Eriksen levelled when he wrongfooted Lukasz Fabianski from a free kick shortly afterwards, but the visitors went behind again minutes later in catastrophic fashion when Harry Kane sliced Jonjo Shelvey's corner into his own net.
However, Eriksen netted a second leveller from another set piece to ensure that his side left with a share of the spoils and extended their unbeaten Premier League run to seven matches since the opening day.
Sports Mole assesses whether the result was a fair outcome or not.
Match statistics:
SWANSEA
Shots: 11
On target: 2
Possession: 45%
Corners: 5
Fouls: 8
TOTTENHAM
Shots: 19
On target: 11
Possession: 55%
Corners: 6
Fouls: 19
Was the result fair?
This is a bit of a difficult one to assess. Looking at the statistics above, it might be assumed that Spurs carried a clear greater attacking threat throughout the match. However, this was not the case. Kane was largely nullified by Ashley Williams and Federico Fernandez, and an end-to-end game saw chances for both sides. Although Fabianski was the busier of the two goalkeepers, many of the visitors' efforts were weak finishes or speculative long-range strikes.
Jefferson Montero carried a constant threat throughout the match, although his impact did wane in the second half, and the possession statistics were impacted by the fact that the hosts were content to sit back and absorb Spurs pressure for the 40 minutes or so in total that they were leading during the match. Yes they profited from a comedy own goal from Kane, but were it not for careless fouls on the edge of their own box, they could have won the game themselves, and they nearly did that regardless when Hugo Lloris denied Fernandez with a fine late save. Having said that, if any side were going to win the game it would likely have been Spurs, but on balance neither side should be too unhappy with a point.
Swansea's performance
Things have gone rather wrong for Garry Monk's side since a 2-1 win over Manchester United on August 30 marked their fourth unbeaten match in a row to start the season. Since then they had failed to win four matches in all competitions, scoring just once in that period. Today that winless streak may have continued, but they were far more positive than in recent weeks and carried far more of a threat, something which the recall of Montero contributed to massively.
The Ecuadorian was a constant thorn in Kyle Walker's side and beat him comprehensively down the left before crossing for Ayew to head to hosts in front. It was from Montero taking on Walker again that Swansea won the corner which Kane sliced into his own net, and the winger's pace and endeavour to take on his marker was a key source of creativity and encouragement for the home side. Bafetimbi Gomis is unlikely to be happy with his display after he missed second-half chances, but by and large Monk should be pleased with what he saw on the offensive front from his side.
In defence, meanwhile, Williams was tremendous, mopping up at every opportunity and constantly getting himself in the right place to break up an attack or make a vital intervention. Fabianski was far from convincing in coming to claim the ball on occasion, but he made a string of solid saves, mostly from weak or long-range efforts. The free kicks were both cheap ones to give away, but the goalkeeper should not have been beaten in the way that he was for Eriksen's first goal, although he could do nothing about the second. All in all, there is much to chew on for Monk over the course of the international break, but plenty to also be encouraged by.
Tottenham's performance
For Spurs and for Mauricio Pochettino, this was a frustrating day. There were undoubtedly positive signs - Eriksen was excellent in the midfield as the side's creative fulcrum, never mind his set piece prowess, while new England call-up Dele Alli was impressive in a deeper role, contributing to the defensive effort while also getting himself in promising attacking positions, such as the one that he was fouled in for one of Eriksen's goals.
Andros Townsend and Clinton Njie also gave the manager something to think about with encouraging cameos in the second half. Townsend in particular caused problems for Neil Taylor down the right flank, and gave Fabianski a hairy moment with a swerving shot from distance, but he also should have done much better than firing tamely at the goalkeeper after he had led a rapid breakaway.
However, there were also disappointments for the visitors. Kane's own goal was a mixture of misfortune and poor technique, but even aside from that moment he was largely ineffective in attack. Williams was on him at every opportunity, and when the England man did eventually shake his marker he was hesitant to pull the trigger, a surprise given the confidence he must have taken from opening his account for his club last week against Manchester City. Erik Lamela and Nacer Chadli were also quiet and Pochettino has some thinking to do about his team selection. Overall though, he will be pleased to have seen his side fight back from a goal down twice to extend their unbeaten run to seven league games.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Ashley Williams: It was between Williams and Eriksen for this honour but even despite the Dane's two goals, Williams's was the most impressive individual performance of the afternoon. Swansea were winless in four coming into this match but they were hardly leaky at the back - before last weekend's 3-1 blip against Southampton, they had conceded just five goals in their first six Premier League games. Yes they let in another two today, but both from free kicks which could not be defended once the initial foul had been given.
Williams was impressive throughout, marking Kane out of the game, clearing up, getting into the right positions to make last-ditch challenges and clearances, and his display was the main factor in preventing Spurs finding the net from open play.
Biggest gaffe
There cannot be many matches where it is this easy to pick the worst mistake. Kane's swing-and-slice from Shelvey's corner was not only both a display of poor technique and bad luck, it also took all the momentum away from his side after they had equalised just five minutes earlier. An honourable mention to Fabianski being completely unprepared for the way Eriksen struck his first free kick.
Referee performance
Mike Dean is one of the most experienced referees in Britain, and he had a pretty decent game here. He made all of the big calls correctly - both fouls penalised for Eriksen's free kicks were done so correctly, he booked three or four players for poor challenges and he let the game flow as much as he could. It would have been interesting, however, if Williams had not been called offside in the second half, as Shelvey's ball in appeared to strike the arm of a Spurs player. Dean was spared having to make that call by his linesman's (correct) flag.
What next?
Swansea: Garry Monk's men will host Stoke City after the international break on Monday, October 19.
Tottenham: Spurs entertain Liverpool on October 17.
Tom Nightingale
