Swansea City was able to end the season by frustrating Manchester City by tying them 1-1 at Liberty Stadium on Sunday. The most surprising part about this result is that it was without captain Ashley Williams, goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski and playmaker Gylfi Sigurdsson.
For the second consecutive match, the Swans pulled out a result against a club fighting for their UEFA Champions League (UCL) lives. On May the seventh they traveled to Upton Park and thrashed West Ham United 4-1 in the process. With that result, the Hammers dreams of playing in the UCL officially ended.
This result set up Champions League hopefuls Manchester United with a chance to secure their spot in the 2016/2017 UCL campaign. It was a long shot since United had to win their final match by 18 goals. However, let’s now look at the performances of the Swansea players against City.
The defence stands tall without veteran pieces
Kristoffer Nordfeldt (8): The 26-year-old Swedish goalkeeper got his first start of the season on Sunday and managed to come up with four crucial saves. The goal that the Citizens scored was not Nordfeldt fault. The keeper managed to keep his cool in his first start and helped anchor the back line in the 1-1 draw.
Jordi Amat (6): His performance on the defensive end was pretty solid against a determined Man City side. However, he was not able to create too many offensive chances on the flanks. He spent most of his time on the defensive end.
Federico Fernandez (7): The Argentinean international was able to step in and lead the defense with Williams not being in the lineup. Stephen Kingsley (6): The 21-year-old Scottish center back had big shoes to fill, since he was replacing Williams’s position on Sunday. A few shaky moments against a City side that created 17 shots in the match, but he was able to be an asset in this 1-1 draw.
Angel Rangel (6): Similar to Amat, Rangel was able to complete his defensive tasks in this match. However, on the offensive end, he did fall a little short to his usual standards.
The offense did not create too many chances but they did manage to slow down City
Leon Britton (6): This was not the best of games for the savvy veteran. Man City’s goal was entirely his fault since he kept Kelechi Iheanacho onside when he scored in the fifth minute. Plus he ended the season by picking a yellow card in the 74th minute.
Jack Cork (6): Similar to the rest of the midfielders at times he was a fifth, sixth or even seventh defender during the match. However, he was able to help the Jacks achieve 50 percent of possession by helping the midfield to hold on to the ball and giving their defense a moment to breathe.
Leroy Fer (6): Similar to Cork, the Dutch international found himself on the defensive end for the majority of the game. The Swans were only able to create four shots in the match so their time on the ball usually ended in a turnover and with City running to start a counter.
Andre Ayew (8): Swansea was only able to get a shot on target in 90 minutes and Ayew's set piece was fortunate enough to enter the back of the net. It seemed like a routine save for the English international Joe Hart. Until one of his defenders headed the ball into the upper left-hand corner of the net to tie the match at 1-1 in the 45th minute.
Jefferson Montero (7): The Ecuadorian international was one of the few players to make the City defense pay attention to the potential threat.
Wayne Routledge (6): The speedster did his best to cause problems for City. However, with the Citizens determined to win the match he was playing defense for most of the time.
No big moment for the substitutes
Modou Barrow (Came in for Routledge in the 58th minute, 6): He was brought to make runs at the defense to buy some much-needed breathing time for the defense. He was able to do that sometimes but similar to the rest of the players he was chasing after the ball for most of the game.
Bafetimbi Gomis (Came in for Montero in the 83rd minute, 5): The Frenchman was brought in to potentially score the game winner and end the season with back to back upset victories. However, he was not able to do that and failed to make a real impact in the game.
Ending the season with a draw
Francesco Guidolin (8): A part of him might have wished the Swans ended the Primer League with three points in the bag. However, a draw against Manchester City without a few of his key players for this match will send the Italian manager with a smile into the offseason.
The Welsh club was able to end the season in 12th place with 47 points and a negative 10 goal differential. Guidolin saved the Jacks from what seemed like a destined trip back to the Championship. However, earning three big upset victories (Against West Ham United, Liverpool and Chelsea.) in their last six games secured their place in the Premier League next season.