Takeaways from the Swansea game

Observations From the Swansea FA Cup Victory

Takeaways from the 3-0 FA Cup victory at Swansea

I haven't written about a game in a while have I, so let me expound the plus I saw in our emphatic performance against Swansea City.

It wasn't the marginal possession stats that impressed me, 77% in the first half, 73% in the second half, nor our goal attempts 9 in the first half, 16 in the second half. No it was ou passing around the box.

So often we look ponderous or simply pass looking for an opening that isn't there. A poor mans tippy tappy Barcelona. But against Swansea, we passed the ball around the box intricately and quickly. We caused problems.

Of course it isn't going to be successful all the time, of course we are going to lose possession, but the little flicks and passing will at other times and will unlock big games. What we produced is now the standard we must aim for every game.

Our interchanging of position behind the front man was something on a level I don't recall seeing from us before. Lucas Moura looks an exceptional purchase. The clown who permanently slags off the club he is supposed to support. Baffoon. Moura can pass all right and he appears to have good vision too.

The other thing that impressed was Erik Lamela. Regular readers will know I have criticised both the club and Lamela over his mental attitude and how we helped him settle when he first arrived, we could have done more in my opinion.

Out wide he doesn't always have the impact that his passing can have. For me centrally he is an alternative to Eriksen, he has the all important vision. He can see a pass, that is a gift not all players have and something we can use centrally, but it's lost if he is out wide.


COYS

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