Emmanuel Adebayor scored twice to help Tottenham Hotspur overcome Swansea City 3-1 at the Liberty Stadium in the Premier League this afternoon.
The Togo striker's brace sandwiched an own goal from home defender Chico Flores, while Swansea's strike came during the close stages courtesy of Wilfried Bony.
Below, Sports Mole has looked back over the 90 minutes to determine if the result was a fair one.
Match statistics
Swansea
Shots: 13
On target: 3
Possession: 56%
Corners: 8
Fouls: 6
Tottenham
Shots: 11
On target: 5
Possession: 44%
Corners: 2
Fouls: 9
Was the result fair?
The Swans dominated the first 30 minutes, but after that they were outclassed. While Tottenham took their chances and made the most of their openings, Swansea didn't and for that reason alone, the North Londoners were deserving victors in Wales.
Swansea's performance
If ever a display summed up large parts of Swansea's season, this was it. Some of the football that they played was excellent at times, but most of it was produced in areas of the pitch that was never going to hurt Tottenham. Then, when they did manage to get into the final third, they were wasteful. Bony's performance was a big plus as he showed what a threat he can be, but he needs help up front. If Michu is nowhere near fitness, then manager Michael Laudrup may benefit from adding another striker to his squad this month.
Tottenham's performance
Manager Tim Sherwood probably laid into his player a little bit during the break because although they were leading, the football that they produced was sloppy at times. The scoreline meant that Swansea had to commit more men forward after the restart and that played into the away side's hands. They picked Swansea off on two occasions with smart counter-attacks and could have scored one or two more goals. It seems that Sherwood has taken a lot of the complication regarding tactics away and his players are flourishing under that mindset.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Emmanuel Adebayor: When his head is in the right frame of mind, there are few better strikers in the Premier League than Adebayor. He proved as much today with two more goals, but not only that, his hold up play and ability to bring his teammates into the action caused numerous problems to Swansea. If he can keep this form up between now and the end of the season, then Spurs will fancy their chances of qualifying for the Champions League.
Biggest gaffe
Roland Lamah had only been on the pitch a few seconds when he allowed Kyle Walker the freedom of the right flank. From there, the full-back's cross was missed by Swansea goalkeeper Gerhard Tremmel, before Chico diverted the ball into his own net. All in all, it was a shocking goal for the hosts to concede that put them 2-0 behind.
Referee performance
With two sides that like to play passing football, there was never going to be too many incidents for Atkinson to deal with. By and large he kept the yellow card in his pocket, although he did dish out one harsh caution to Bony, who accidentally collided with Vlad Chiriches when he only had eyes for the ball.
What next?
Swansea: Having defeated Manchester United in the previous round, Swansea will turn their attention to FA Cup matters next Saturday when they travel to Championship side Birmingham City.
Tottenham: Meanwhile, Spurs are out of that competition and so do not play again until Manchester City visit White Hart Lane a week on Wednesday.
Liam Apicella
