Christian Eriksen inspired Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday afternoon at the Liberty Stadium as they swept aside Swansea City to reach the FA Cup semi-finals.
The Danish international put the North-Londoners ahead with a fantastic strike in just the 11th minute as they seized control straight away. Erik Lamela doubled the lead in the closing stages of the first-half with a similarly eye-catching effort.
Eriksen had the final say in the 63rd minute with another clinical strike to ensure Spurs progressed to the final-four of the historic competition.
Erisken blasts Spurs ahead
There were loud appeals for a penalty within the first minute as Nathan Dyer powered beyond Ben Davies but was taken down by Michel Vorm in the area. However, the goalkeeper clearly got a touch on the ball as the shouts were waved away by the referee.
With Tottenham’s first real chance at goal, they snatched the lead via Eriksen. The Danish midfielder found acres of space in centre and trotted forwards before curling a sumptuous drive into the far corner with his left foot from just outside the area.
The visitors thought they had doubled the lead as Son collected a delicious pass and finished powerfully beyond Kristoffer Nordfeldt. The strike though was ruled out for offside via a combination of the linesman and VAR.
Visitors continue to probe just before half-time
Lucas Moura may have stretched Tottenham’s advantage but the Brazilian was not able to stretch far enough to divert Erik Lamela’s cross into the net.
Eriksen nearly repeated his feat in the closing ten minutes of the first-half, taking aim from the edge of the area. The Swans’ stopper somehow managed to acrobatically tip the ball onto the crossbar to keep the deficit at one.
Mauricio Pochettino’s troops went two goals ahead on the stroke of half-time through Lamela. The Argentine drove at the Swans’ backline and showed quick feet to manufacture space. He then curled a cool finish into the bottom corner, leaving Nordfeldt flat-footed.
Swans have a switch-around
Carlos Carvalhal made a change at the break as he introduced Luciano Narsingh for Kyle Naughton. The change almost paid immediate dividends as Martin Olsson unleashed a powerful effort, only for it to be stopped by Vorm. The former Swansea keeper did even better as Tammy Abraham latched onto the rebound only yards from goal and looked destined to head home. Vorm though reacted excellently to paw the ball away.
Nordfeldt followed suit as Eric Dier also had an effort from some way out. The Swedish international stretched well however to power the ball away from the top corner.
The game was effectively finished by Eriksen just over an into the clash. Lucas Moura teed up the ex-Ajax man on the edge of the box and he finished well into the bottom corner to all-but seal Tottenham’s progression into the semi-finals of the FA Cup.
Tottenham coast to the semi-finals
Former Swansea forward Fernando Llorente was introduced to the fray but failed to notch a fourth as he stretched to turn home Son’s cross.
Pinball in the hosts penalty area almost saw Tottenham add further gloss as Nordfeldt failed to deal with Eriksen’s free-kick but somehow they managed to scramble clear before telling contact was made.
As it happened, further goals were not required as Tottenham Hotspur became the first team to secure their place in the FA Cup semi-finals.
Final Thoughts
It’s fair to say that Spurs deserve their place in final-four. The North-Londoners were clinical as they scythed through Swansea with ease. They could have even have found the net far more. Eriksen was brilliant on the day as he bagged two excellent goals.
Pochettino’s troops now turn their attention to the draw for the next round that will take place on Sunday.
Swansea meanwhile are forced to focus on their fight for survival in the Premier League. The Swans did not really present any problems for Tottenham as they failed to really get going in an attacking sense. They defending also was not all too inspiring as Eriksen and Lamela found the net with ease.
Match Report
Swansea City: Nordfeldt (6); Naughton (5) (Narsingh (5), 45′), van der Hoorn (5) (Roberts (N/A), 81′), Bartley (5), Mawson (6), Olsson (6); Dyer (6) (Routledge (N/A), 86′), Ki (6), Carroll (6), Clucas (6); Abraham (5).
Tottenham Hotspur: Vorm (7); Davies (7), Sánchez (6), Vertonghen (7), Trippier (6); Eriksen (9), Dier (7), Sissoko (6); Lamela (7) (Alli (N/A), 81′), Son (7), Moura (6) (Llorente (6), 73′).
Goals: Eriksen (11′, 63′), Lamela (45+1′)
Referee: Kevin Friend
Yellow Cards: Sánchez (69′)
Red Cards: N/A
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