Clement hails Llorente the ‘best in Europe’
Paul Clement lavished praise on striker Fernando Llorente after the World Cup winner took Swansea a significant stride closer to Premier League survival. The 32-year-old Spaniard struck two minutes into second-half stoppage time to earn Swansea another valuable victory, on home soil.
That is 11 goals since arriving from Sevilla for £5 million in the summer and Clement said: “I am not sure there is a better player in Europe when it comes to attacking crosses.
“I have worked with some good ones and Fernando is very good. We saw that today. Andy Carroll is spoken about a lot, but Fernando has scored some key goals – at Liverpool and again today. But he has also played a part in creating some goals too.“
On a day when only victory would suffice – Clement confirmed as much – it took Swansea just a dozen minutes to break the deadlock. Leroy Fer, rejuvenated since the arrival of Clement, teased a cross to the far post where Llorente rose to beat veteran goalkeeper Paul Robinson. Burnley then took the game by the scruff and Lukasz Fabianski had to be at his best to palm away a deflected shot by Andre Gray.
Still, the visitors were not to be denied and, when a Robbie Brady corner arrived inside the six-yard box, referee Anthony Taylor swore blind that Alfie Mawson had handled. By the time Gray had converted the ensuing penalty, replays had shown the hand belonged to Burnley’s Welsh international striker Sam Vokes. Incensed by the decision, Swansea set off in pursuit of the lead. Gylfi Sigurdsson was twice denied by Robinson and, on a separate occasion, two minutes into the second half, the Icelandic international saw his goalbound shot cleared off the line by Ben Mee. It looked as though the hosts would be made to pay for their inability to turn pressure into goals when Gray, on the hour, latched on to a Vokes flick and beat Fabianski to his left.
However, throwing caution to the wind and with Clement prompting, they were level 10 minutes later when Martin Olsson, having exchanged passes with Sigurdsson, beat Robinson with a crisp strike from a dozen yards. Burnley were finally undone in the second minute of stoppage time when Llorente, like all good strikers, arrived in the right place at the right time. Tom Carroll popped in a cross to the far post in the 92nd-minute and the Spaniard rose to head it home. Burnley manager Sean Dyche felt Llorente had pushed Mee in the back, insisting: “To have a hand that big in your back is a foul. But it would have been a case of nicking a point had we done so.”
Swansea (4-2-3-1): Fabianski 6; Naughton (Rangel 88, 5) Fernandez 6, Mawson 6, Olsson 8; Cork 6, Fer 7; Narsingh 7 (Ayew 73, 6), Carroll 6 (Amat 90, 5), Sigurdsson 8; Llorente 7 Subs Nordfeldt (g), Britton, Borja, Routledge. Booked Mee, Ward. Burnley (4-4-2) Robinson 6; Lowton 6, Keane 7, Mee 6, Ward 7; Boyd 6, Barton 6 (Westwood 79, 6), Hendrick 7, Brady 6 (Arfield 65,6); Gray 8, Vokes 7 (Tarkowski 79, 6). Subs Flanagan, Pope (g), Darikwa, Agyei. Booked Fer, Cork. Referee: A Taylor (Cheshire).