02/01/2018 19:45 v Tottenham

Carlos Carvalhal's first home game as Swansea City boss ended in a spirited 2-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.

Liberty old boy Fernando Llorente set Spurs on the path to victory with an early header which should have been disallowed for offside.

And Dele Alli sealed the points late on after the Swans had come perilously close to scoring an equaliser.

Carvalhal started with a 5-3-2 for his first fixture in SA1. 

In came Mike van der Hoorn, Nathan Dyer and club skipper Angel Rangel in place of Roque Mesa, the injured Tammy Abraham and the suspended Kyle Naughton.

Tottenham took the lead on 12 minutes as Llorente headed home Christian Eriksen’s free-kick, but the Swans felt hard done by as replays showed the Spaniard was a yard offside.

Monsoon-like conditions made it difficult for either side to create many clear chances in the first half as Renato Sanches hit a free-kick over the bar before Martin Olsson fired wide.

Alfie Mawson’s looping header forced Hugo Lloris off his line to deny Swansea with a smart punch before Spurs scrambled the ball away.

The Swans started with plenty of energy in the second half as Dyer raced through on goal only for his curling effort to fall just wide.

A fine save from Lukasz Fabianski denied Eriksen at the near post as Tottenham looked to double their advantage from a set-piece.

The Swans almost found an equaliser through substitute Luciano Narsingh only for Lloris to palm the Dutchman’s effort away from goal.

The fight continued as Carvalhal's men produced their best spell of the game.

When Dyer’s pass played Jordan Ayew into the box, the striker rounded Lloris but saw his effort snuffed out by some last-ditch Spurs defending.

The Tom Carroll corner which followed found van der Hoorn in the box only for the defender’s deflected header to come back off the post.

A volley from Son Heung-Min almost doubled Spurs’ advantage, but Swansea continued to push for an equaliser with Olsson’s 25-yard drive falling just wide.

The home side deserved a goal, but their hopes of a result were over when Alli scored at the second attempt after being found by sub Harry Kane.

Swans: Lukasz Fabianski, Angel Rangel (capt, Luciano Narsingh, 53), Mike van der Hoorn, Alfie Mawson, Federico Fernandez, Martin Olsson, Nathan Dyer (Oli McBurnie, 70), Tom Carroll (Wayne Routledge, 78), Sam Clucas, Renato Sanches, Jordan Ayew.

Subs not used: Kristoffer Nordfeldt, Kyle Bartley, Roque Mesa, Leroy Fer.

Tottenham: Hugo Lloris (capt), Kieran Trippier, Jan Vertonghen, Davinson Sanchez (Victor Wanyama, 60), Son Heung-Min, Erik Lamela (Moussa Sissoko, 76), Eric Dier, Fernando Llorente (Harry Kane, 68), Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen, Ben Davies.

Subs not used: Michel Vorm, Serge Aurier, Harry Winks, Kyle Walker-Peters.