Tottenham consolidated their position on the fringes of the Premier League top four with a commanding home victory over struggling Swansea.
However, there was controversy over their opening goal, scored by Harry Kane from the penalty spot, after Dele Alli appeared to dive in the box.
Son Heung-min’s brilliant acrobatic strike doubled the lead at the end of a first half Spurs totally dominated.
Kane added his second when smashing home Son’s unintentional lay-off, before Christian Eriksen nodded home from close range and later drove in his second to further punish the Swans in stoppage time.
Defeat means the Welsh side are bottom of the table after Sunderland’s victory at home to Leicester.
Spurs’ win – just a second from their past 11 games – keeps Mauricio Pochettino’s side in fifth place, but narrows the gap to fourth-placed Arsenal to one point.
A deserved, but controversial lead
Spurs had won just once in their past 10 matches in all competitions, a run dating back to early October that has seen them eliminated from the Champions League and EFL Cup, and lose ground to the Premier League leaders.
They fully deserved their lead – Lukasz Fabianksi had made several key stops to keep the score level – but the penalty award that led to the opening goal was very soft.
Alli seemed to simulate contact as he ran across right-back Kyle Naughton just inside the area, with referee Jonathan Moss awarding Spurs’ sixth spot-kick in eight games, all of which have been scored.
Son’s spectacular strike for the second – the ball was smashed in at the near post courtesy of a scissor-kick – was a better reflection of the home side’s overall play.
Their dominant hold over possession and quick attacking play continued to overwhelm Swansea throughout the second half and the away side were further punished three times on the break as they looked for a way back into the match.
In truth, it could have been an even wider margin of victory had it not been for further saves by Fabianksi and some wasteful finishing by Spurs, with Victor Wanyama’s inexplicable miss from close range the most obvious example.
‘Critical’ just got harder
By manager Bob Bradley’s own admission, December is a “critical month” for the Swans.
They play five of the bottom 12 teams – Sunderland, Middlesbrough, West Ham, Bournemouth and Crystal Palace – in their next six matches.
With just one win from their past 14 games and having now been sent to the bottom of the league after this emphatic defeat, the task of turning their season around is becoming significantly harder.
There was little in the way of positives to take from White Hart Lane, apart from the performance of Fabianksi and the fact Naughton was unjustly penalised for the opening goal.
