Tottenham Hotspur kept themselves within touching distance of the Champions League places by holding on to beat Swansea City 3-2 at White Hart Lane tonight.
Nacer Chadli's opener was cancelled out by Ki Sung-yueng either side of Bafetimbi Gomis collapsing and being taken to hospital in a first half which ended 1-1.
Strikes from Ryan Mason and Andros Townsend gave Spurs a two-goal lead which came under threat late on as Gylfi Sigurdsson rifled in a volley against his former club.
Spurs goalkeeper Hugo Lloris made a crucial save in stoppage time to secure his side a victory which ensures that their top-four rivals did not run away from them.
Below, Sports Mole analyses the events in London to see if the result was reflective of the action.
Match statistics
SPURS
Shots: 20
On target: 7
Possession: 61%
Corners: 6
Fouls: 14
SWANSEA
Shots: 10
On target: 5
Possession: 39%
Corners: 4
Fouls: 7
Was the result fair?
While they may have been hanging on in stoppage time, it would have been a little unjust had Spurs conceded a late equaliser. They were dominant for large periods of the game and largely kept Swansea under wraps. The dramatic finale may at least remind them that it is never over until it is over in the Premier League.
Tottenham's performance
Spurs had long spells of territory and possession without creating a host of chances and were perhaps guilty of overplaying in the final third. When they did get it right, their approach play was too fast for Swansea and that is often when they opened their opposition up. What will please Mauricio Pochettino is that his match-winners were not the usual suspects of Christian Eriksen and Harry Kane. Mason stepped up with his first Premier League goal, and Townsend his first in open play since October 2013, both really well-taken strikes. They again switched off in defence a couple of times and this is a concerning habit that they will need to shake quickly if they are to be serious players in this top-four race.
Swansea's performance
A strange performance in that they never really asserted themselves on the game, and yet they were never really out of it. The loss of Gomis early on could have been difficult to overcome both psychologically and tactically, but they responded to going behind with a wonderfully-worked equaliser involving Neil Taylor, Sigurdsson and Ki. It is a good job that their midfielders are chipping in with goals, because there have been few from the strikers since Wilfried Bony's departure - apologies for kicking Gomis while he is down. Not down and out, thankfully, with the latest reports indicating that the French striker is in a stable condition and talking in hospital. That will definitely be an uplifting piece of news for Garry Monk and his men after seeing their winning streak end at two.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Danny Rose: Got up and down Tottenham's left for all of the 78 minutes that he was on the field and delivered a peach of a cross for Chadli's opening goal. Did not neglect his defensive duties, as he is often criticised for doing.
Biggest gaffe
Lukasz Fabianski was very lucky to escape unpunished after a scuffed clearance hit Chadli and rebounded into the path of the offside Kane. Spurs played on and the Belgian found the net, only to see the flag raised.
Referee performance
Michael Oliver is probably one of the best of a poor bunch in the Premier League and showed why tonight by playing a really smart advantage to allow Townsend to break and score Tottenham's third. He got some of the trivial decisions wrong, but a good performance on the whole.
What next?
Tottenham: Spurs are the only top-four contender on double duty this week and they travel to Queens Park Rangers for their game in hand on Saturday, looking to cut the gap on fourth place to three points.
Swansea: The Welsh outfit have 12 days until their next fixture, when they welcome former manager Brendan Rodgers and his rampant Liverpool side to the Liberty Stadium.
No Data Analysis info
