Christian Eriksen sprinkled some magic yet again as Tottenham Hotspur beat Swansea City 3-0 to march into the semi-finals of the FA Cup, with the Dane netting a brace in a one-sided encounter at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday.
After their UEFA Champions League exit at the hands of Juventus earlier in the month and the subsequent injury to star man Harry Kane, there was plenty of reasons for the Lilywhites faithful to be gloomy but Eriksen brought some cheer onto their faces with yet another
Despite having Fernando Llorente available, Mauricio Pochettino elected to send out his team in a false-nine formation, with in-form winger Heung-Min Son leading the line and it wasn’t long before the visitors took the lead.
Eriksen was afforded time and space on the edge of the Swansea box and the 26-year-old let fly with his left foot. Kristoffer Nordfelt, in the Swans’ goal, dived but was powerless to stop Spurs’ creative maestro from scoring and after their 11th-minute opener, the Lilyhwhites continued to dominate their opposition.
Erik Lamela, enjoying playing time after an injury-plagued few seasons, would double their lead late in the first-half as Spurs threatened to get out of sight before the interval itself.
After the Swans’ impressive form in the Premier League of late, to see them outplayed on their own turf was cause of concern for the home crowd, but Spurs were clearly enjoying their football and it was more of a case of the visitors being too good on the day.
Tammy Abraham, on loan from Chelsea, was often too isolated upfront as the hosts struggled to test Michel Vorm in goal, with Spurs enjoying close to 80 per cent of possession.
And Eriksen would grab a second and his side’s third on the hour-mark to ensure that there was to be no upset on the day, which allowed the travelling supporters to breathe easy finally.
The FA Cup is their only chance of ending their trophy drought and after becoming the first team to book their passage into the semis, they will be backing themselves to go all the way.
Saturday’s second quarter-final sees Manchester United host Brighton & Hove Albion later, while on Sunday, Wigan Athletic take on Southampton before Leicester City welcome Chelsea.