- Llorente nabs opener
- Stoke misses PK
- Carroll insures win
- Swans two points behind Hull
Swansea City’s Premier League life must’ve flashed before its eyes just before Marko Arnautovic gave them new life.
The Stoke City man sent a penalty kick over the bar moments before Tom Carroll’s deflected goal lifted Swansea City to a 2-0 win over Stoke City at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday.
Fernando Llorente also scored for Swans, who keep pace with Hull City. Swans remain two points back of 17th place Hull and are now four points back of Crystal Palace, five behind Burnley, and six of Leicester City.
Stoke are 11th, eight points clear of the drop zone.
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Swansea started bright, and Stoke dealt well with a 7th minute threat from Gylfi Sigurdsson.
Ryan Shawcross conceded a corner kick with a chested stop of another threat, and Llorente made Stoke pay with a thumping header. A push to the back from Alfie Mawson stopped Peter Crouch from reaching the initial corner for a clearance.
Swans almost went up 2-0 when Jordan Ayew’s tight-angled shot megged a shaky Jack Butland but skittered along the line and wide of danger.
Saido Berahino had a couple solid chances, the last of the half collected by Lukasz Fabianski.
Sigurdsson lorded over a 64th minute free kick that Butland butchered only to see Geoff Cameron bail him out by blocking a shot out for a corner.
Shortly after news of Hull’s 10-man goal would’ve reached the Liberty Stadium, Fernandez chopped down Xherdan Shaqiri for a penalty that Marko Arnautovic blazed over the bar. Woah.
Carroll then struck at the other end within a minute, hitting a deflected shot past Butland.
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6 - Half (6) of Fernando Llorente's 12 goals in all competitions for @SwansOfficial this season have been headers. Sprinter. pic.twitter.com/jrAXGJDur9
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 22, 2017
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