High-flying West Brom brought down to earth by Swansea defeat
Last Updated: November 29, 2012 9:57am
West Bromwich Albion's four-game winning run in the Premier League has come to an end with a 3-1 defeat at Swansea City.
Wayne Routledge's double and Michu's strike in the first half proved to be enough for the Swans to bag maximum points at the Liberty Stadium.
Romelu Lukaku's goal in first-half injury-time was the only highlight for Steve Clarke's side in a largely uninspiring display that saw them drop to fourth in the table.
Best of the Game
- Man of the match: Swansea City winger Pablo Hernandez was a force on the left wing and played crucial roles in all three goals.
- Goal of the game: Wayne Routledge's first goal saw a number of passes stringed together in what an excellent attacking move.
- Moment of the game: Swansea fans were singling 'Ole Ole' towards the end of the first half when their team had over 70% of the possession.
- Stats of the game: Swansea have won four of the last five league meetings with West Brom.
- Save of the match: West Brom goalkeeper Boaz Myhill showed great reflex in keeping out a Michu shot in the 72nd minute.
- Talking point: The crosses for all of Swansea's goals came from the left and this should give Baggies manager Steve Clark something to chew on before their next game.
The first chance of the game fell to the Swans as early as the second minute. Pablo Hernandez released Michu from the left with a ball over the top of the West Brom defence, but the Spaniard saw his left-footed shot from a narrow angle come off the post.
Michu, though, did not have to wait long to score as he slotted home Pablo's low cross from the left in the ninth minute.
Two minutes later Pablo again turned provider, this time feeding Routledge from the left with a well-measured cross that the midfielder turned in off Jonas Olsson.
Swansea continued to dominate proceedings at the Liberty Stadium, with West Brom creating their first chance only on the half-hour mark when Peter Odemwingie fired just wide from outside the box.
It became 3-0 to the Welsh club in the 39th minute when Nathan Dyer and Hernandez helped tee up Ben Davies for his left-wing cross across the face of the goal that Routledge fired home with ease.
Swansea could have gone into the break 4-0 up had Michu been able to connect with Hernandez's cross from the left after finding himself in a very good position.
Instead Michael Laudrup's side conceded on the stroke of half-time when Lukaku fired home from close range after receiving a flick-on from Swansea's Ki Sung-Yueng following a corner.
The Baggies started the second half on a brighter note with Lukaku first shooting just wide and then floating in a cross that was cleared just in time by Ashley Williams, before Odemwingie tried his luck but in vain.
Michu came close to adding to his tally on two occasions in the final 20 minutes and Ki hit the side-netting with a curling free kick, as the Swans secured a comfortable win.
| Swansea City | Team Statistics | West Bromwich Albion |
| 3 | Goals | 1 |
| 3 | 1st Half Goals | 1 |
| 4 | Shots on Target | 1 |
| 5 | Shots off Target | 4 |
| 4 | Blocked Shots | 1 |
| 5 | Corners | 2 |
| 11 | Fouls | 16 |
| 6 | Offsides | 2 |
| 0 | Yellow Cards | 4 |
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 |
| 91.2 | Passing Success | 81.9 |
| 16 | Tackles | 20 |
| 87.5 | Tackles Success | 70 |
| 64.9 | Possession | 35.1 |
| 46.7 | Territorial Advantage | 53.3 |
| 683 | Total Passes | 365 |
| 25 | Total Crosses | 14 |
| 138 | Lost Balls | 127 |
| 51 | Recoveries | 47 |
| 70.4 | 1st Half Poss. | 29.6 |
| 58.9 | 2nd Half Poss. | 41.1 |
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Barclays Premier League
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester United | 38 | 89 |
| 2 | Manchester City | 38 | 78 |
| 3 | Chelsea | 38 | 75 |
| 4 | Arsenal | 38 | 73 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | 72 |
| 6 | Everton | 38 | 63 |
| 7 | Liverpool | 38 | 61 |
| 8 | West Bromwich Albion | 38 | 49 |
| 9 | Swansea City | 38 | 46 |
| 10 | West Ham United | 38 | 46 |
| 11 | Norwich City | 38 | 44 |
| 12 | Fulham | 38 | 43 |
| 13 | Stoke City | 38 | 42 |
| 14 | Southampton | 38 | 41 |
| 15 | Aston Villa | 38 | 41 |
| 16 | Newcastle United | 38 | 41 |
| 17 | Sunderland | 38 | 39 |
| 18 | Wigan Athletic | 38 | 36 |
| 19 | Reading | 38 | 28 |
| 20 | Queens Park Rangers | 38 | 25 |
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