Tottenham Hotspur 0-0 Swansea City
- Published
Tottenham were frustrated by a disciplined Swansea as they lost ground on their title rivals.
Spurs, who beat Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League at Wembley on Wednesday, are yet to win a Premier League game in their temporary home.
The hosts enjoyed 75% possession in the goalless draw and managed 26 shots, compared to Swansea's four, with the visitors playing with three centre-backs for much of the game.
It is the first time in 30 home league games that Spurs have failed to score.
The best chance fell to England striker Harry Kane in the 58th minute as he scooped his shot onto the crossbar from close range.
Seven minutes later Kane also saw a header tipped over the bar by Lukasz Fabianski, while the Swans did not register a shot on target in the game.
Martin Olsson was twice fortunate not to concede a penalty after first blocking Toby Alderweireld's progress and then touching a loose ball with his hand, while there were calls for a late penalty when Serge Aurier went down in the box under a challenge from Jordan Ayew.
Aurier and Fernando Llorente came on as second-half substitutes to make their league debuts for Spurs.
Mauricio Pochettino's men are now five points behind leaders Manchester City in fifth, while Swansea are up to 14th.
Stubborn Swansea
Swansea's point was built on their defence that withstood attack after attack from Spurs.
Almost 40% of the game was played in the Swans' penalty area but the centre-back combination of Alfie Mawson, Federico Fernandez and Mike van der Hoorn frustrated the hosts.
Spurs had eight shots on target, including a close-range effort from Son Heung-min and a first-half Kane free-kick which was saved by Fabianski.
While Swans' manager Paul Clement will be delighted with how his team defended, their attack struggled to make an impact.
Renato Sanches and Tammy Abraham had little to work with and neither got a touch in Spurs' box.
The visitors had only five touches in their opponent's penalty area in the entire game.
Spurs' Wembley woe continues
The midweek victory against Dortmund was only Spurs' second win in 12 matches at Wembley, and if it were not for Fabianski's saves they would have finally enjoyed a league win under the famous arch.
But Spurs have now failed to score a first-half goal in all three of their home league games this season.
Burnley and Swansea have both earned points on their visits to Wembley, while Chelsea beat them 2-1.
Pochettino started with Son at left wing-back, who was favoured over Ben Davies. And the South Korean had little to do defensively.
Aurier's introduction on 63 minutes at left-back allowed Son to push further up in attack, while Llorente came on against his former club to offer a different attacking option.
Tottenham have gone three league home games in a row without a win for the first time since December 2013. But they have at least kept a first clean sheet at Wembley since the 2009 League Cup final against Manchester United, having conceded in their previous 11 matches.
Man of the match - Lukasz Fabianski
What they said - 'We did everything to win'
Swansea manager Paul Clement: "I am very proud of the players and the effort they put in to get the result. I said to be confident in your defending and if you do that, and are nice and compact, you can get a result here.
"I am confident in this group that if they execute what they did in training, they can do well."
"We played a very good side that came off the back of a very good result in the Champions League."
Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino: "It is very disappointing because we did everything to win. We created chances and dominated the game but were a little unlucky.
"I am happy with the performance although it is another game we drew here at Wembley and that is no good.
"I like to talk about my team, we created a lot of chances to score. It is true after the draw to say well done to Swansea and congratulate them for taking a draw."
Stats - Shot-shy Swans
Swansea failed to register a single shot on target for the third time in their five Premier League matches this season.
The Swans have been responsible for three of the seven occasions a Premier League side has failed to hit a single shot on target in a Premier League game this season.
Fabianski kept his first clean sheet against Tottenham since Arsenal's 2-0 win against them in the FA Cup third round in 2013-14, having conceded 15 goals in his previous five games against them for Swansea.
Tottenham recorded 75% possession - their highest in a single Premier League match since Opta began recording this data in 2003-04.
This was also Swansea's lowest ever possession figure in the Premier League since they were promoted in 2011 (25%).
What's next?
Tottenham host Barnsley in the EFL Cup on Tuesday, before a trip to West Ham in the league on Saturday.
Swansea are in League Cup action against Reading on Tuesday, before Saturday's visit of Watford in the league.
- Published15 September 2017