Tottenham 0-0 Swansea: Mauricio Pochettino's side frustrated at Wembley once more as Harry Kane and Co fail to unlock the visitors' tenacious defence

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After the excitement of Borussia Dortmund, the brutal comedown of Swansea City. Tottenham can look swashbuckling against Europe's elite; not so much against Wales' finest team.

And it was a compliment to Swansea boss Paul Clement that the first half was so uneventful. He brought them survival last season with exceptional organisation and he isn't about to tear up those foundations now. With Federico Fernandez cajoling and Alfie Mawson and Mike van der Hoorn responding with superb positional play, Tottenham exited at half-time gnawing their knuckles in frustration.

Swansea don't look the best team on paper; under Clement though they can be exceptionally hard to break down. Admittedly they have lost 4-0 to Manchester United this season; but on that occasion they were still in the game until they tired in the final 10 minutes. 

Dele Alli and Harry Kane react in frustration after Tottenham miss an opportunity to go into the lead at Wembley

Renato Sanches showed some authoritative touches in Swansea's midfield as the Tottenham rearguard marked him closely 

Dele Alli bursts forwards with the ball but the England international is under huge pressure from two defenders

At Wembley, a Spurs side which dismantled Everton and swept past an admittedly weakened Dortmund laboured to create clear-cut opportunities. In fact, almost anything they did create came from long range; there were almost none of their trademark incisive passes opening up a defence.

Indeed the best chance of the half, a false dawn as it emerged, was Harry Kane's long-range free kick on nine minutes which forced a fine save from Lukasz Fabianski. The fact that Son Heung-min broke free from his starting position as left-wing back two minutes later to fire into the side netting encouraged a false sense of optimism that chances might abound.

Swansea soon smothered that thought. The back three apart, Sam Clucas and Tom Carroll were also instrumental in closing down space. With Tammy Abraham looking lively on the few occasions Swansea did venture forth, they even threatened the classic counter-attack sucker punch, though Bayern Munich loanee Renato Sanches still looked to be struggling to find his role in the team.

We waited until 38 minutes for the next flurry of excitement, with Kieran Trippier driving wide from 30 yards. And on the stroke of half- time, Eric Dier forced Fabianski to save, again from long range. 

MATCH FACTS, RATINGS, TABLE AND MATCHZONE

Spurs (3-5-1-1): Lloris 6; Alderweireld, 6 Sanchez, 6.5 Vertonghen 6; Trippier, 5 Sissoko 5 (Aurier 62, 6), Dier,5.5 Eriksson, 6 Son 6.5 (Llorente 74, 6); Alli 5.5; Kane 6 

Unused subs: Vorm, Dembele, Foyth, Winks, Davies

Bookings: Alderweireld  

Swansea  (3-4-2-1):

Fabianski 8.5 – Van Der Hoorn (Routledge), 7 (Routledge 85) Fernandez,7.5 Mawson 7.5 – Naughton 7 Clucas, 8 Carroll 7.5 Olsson 6 – Sanches 4.5 (Fer 58, 6) Ayew 6- Abraham 7 (Bony 72 6.5) 

Unused subs: 

Narsingh, Nordfeldt, Rangel, Mesa

Bookings: Van der Hoorn, Carroll, Routledge

Referee: Mike Dean 

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Son Heung-min shields the ball from Mike van der Hoorn who attempts to outmuscle the forward on the touchline

Alli attempts to distract the oppositions keeper as the Welsh side set up for a free kick in the first half

Eric Dier slides in with a full-blooded challenge on Jordan Ayew as the Swansea man is easily dispossessed 

Christian Eriksen battles with Sanches as the Spurs creative midfielder looks to build an attack for his side

Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino reassembled his men for the second half: Trippier moved to left-wing back, with Moussa Sissoko on the right and Son encouraged forward. It made a limited impact. To their credit, Spurs deserved a penalty on 55 minutes when Martin Olsson inexplicably stuck out his hand to meet Dele Alli's flick. He was fortunate referee Mike Dean ignored Tottenham's appeals.

Finally, on 58 minutes there was a characteristically slick interchange of Tottenham passing which almost led to a goal. Son, initially, was in at the near post and Fabianski did well to parry. The ball fell for Kane and the moment seemed to have arrived yet he fairly smashed the crossbar in his eagerness to break the deadlock.

Changes came: Sanches made way for Leroy Fer, the Portuguese midfielder again failing to make an impression. Serge Aurier replaced Sissoko at right-wing back, a change that might have been made at half-time. Yet, hard as Tottenham tried, they still couldn't manufacture the breakthrough they required.

The curse of Wembley was perhaps too swiftly dismissed in the wake of some midweek Champions League excitement.

To be blunt, home draws against Burnley and Swansea do not a title challenge make. Last season Spurs dropped four points at home, never lost and never failed to score. This season they have yet to win in the league, have dropped seven points and couldn't find a way past a magnificently organised Swansea.

And though the hosts eventually extracted a decent transfer window from what appeared to be a calamity, it is on days like this that you question just why more ambition hasn't been shown. 

Harry Kane struggled to make his mark on the game during the first half with a lack of creativity behind him 

Davinson Sanchez brings the ball under control under pressure from opposition striker Tammy Abraham 

Tom Carroll attempts to unleash a shot but Moussa Sissoko blunts the effort on goal with a sliding challenge 

Referee Mike Dean gestures to the players as a decision made by the referee is contested during the game 

Son charges forward with the ball at his feet in the second half as some tiring Swansea players take off in pursuit

Much now rests on Christian Eriksson and Alli when the opposition come like Swansea, as so many will now, and strangle the life out of a game. Spurs are nowhere near Manchester City's nor Manchester United's financial level so perhaps it is unfair to expect them to match their squads.

Yet they have outperformed those teams as they have edged ever closer to a title. Now, though, it's hard to see this squad repeating that trick of being in the race right until the death.

Pochettino could argue they were unlucky not to be awarded a penalty, but he knows they didn't create enough.

Meanwhile, Clement could pretty much submit this game as his CV to most clubs in the world and get a job. As a masterclass in defensive organisation it was definitive. And if it were so easy to do, as some are tempted to argue, you might ask why Ronald Koeman couldn't manage it last weekend? For 90 minutes, almost none of Clement's men put a step wrong in positioning themselves to frustrate Tottenham.

Right at the death, there was a spectacular moment when Kieran Trippier fired a blistering shot from 35 yards out which only narrowly missed. It would have been an extraordinary end. Yet, by that stage, you felt that Swansea probably merited their point.

Abraham rises highest to head away a set piece from Spurs as the home supporters at Wembley grow frustrated

Alli takes a tumble as the talented young England international suffered a frustrating evening at Wembley