Bojan showed his slick — and also sly — qualities in securing and scoring the decisive penalty on a night when there was more tension and controversy between two teams who frequently do not see eye to eye.
The Stoke City forward drew a foul and went down in the box as soon as he felt contact, in only the fourth minute, and it was the game’s decisive moment as Swansea City’s dip in form went on.
There was a further flashpoint involving Jack Butland, the Stoke goalkeeper, who admitted after the game last night that he was lucky to avoid punishment for a studs-up challenge on André Ayew in the first half.
Butland had carelessly given the ball away, then panicked and charged out before making the challenge. There was not even a booking for him, let alone a red card, but his own verdict was damning, as he said, “Thankfully, I got off scot-free.”
Mark Hughes, the Stoke manager, was unhappy that Swansea had showed the incident on the big screen shortly after it happened. “Jack just took his eye off the ball and had to retrieve the situation,” Hughes said.
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“I thought he got the ball first and cleared the ball out. It could have gone against us, in fairness, and we accept that.
“I didn’t appreciate the incident being shown on the video screens. It causes a reaction in the crowd. We had to deal with that.”
Exactly a year before this match, Garry Monk, the Swansea manager, was the man who was fuming. He had accused Victor Moses — playing for Stoke at the time — of cheating against his men by diving. Hughes responded by branding Monk’s comments as “unacceptable”.
This time, though, Monk bit his tongue. There was a one-line answer when he was asked about the Bojan incident — “yes, it was a penalty” — and a similar, careful response when he was questioned about Butland, merely saying, “It was a definite foul, for sure.”
Monk did not hide when he discussed his team’s slide, though, as they suffered a first home defeat of the season. “We’re in a difficult moment, but we have to stick together and get to the levels we know this team can produce,” Monk said. “I’d be lying if I said I’m not concerned, but I’m not overly concerned.”
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Monk had looked on expressionless as Bojan secured his spot-kick, but it was the moment that hurt Swansea on a night when they failed to impress. In contrast, Stoke’s recent run of form kept going strong as they secured a fourth victory in succession.
The Potteries club had not won consecutive league away games since December 2011 but have now managed the feat, having defeated Aston Villa in their previous match on the road.
Bojan’s league comeback a month ago, after a knee injury sustained in January, has lifted the club and he showed his potential again last night. The former Barcelona forward was quick to punish a sloppy start from Swansea, who left Gylfi Sigurdsson on the bench until the hour mark in an unusual selection. Bojan dashed into the box and Ashley Williams needed only to make minimal contact with a knee for the Spaniard to go down and be awarded the crucial penalty.
The spot-kick was given by Bobby Madley, who was accused by José Mourinho of being afraid to give penalties at Stamford Bridge, and the Chelsea manager went on to receive a £50,000 fine and a suspended one-match stadium ban. At the Liberty Stadium, though, Madley made the big call.
Williams should have been less clumsy, as Bojan seemed to be trying to draw a foul and felt the connection against the back of a leg. The Stoke forward soon got to his feet, however, and promptly sent Lukasz Fabianski, the goalkeeper, the wrong way from the spot.
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Swansea were struggling, but Butland nearly threw them a lifeline in the incident involving Ayew. The goalkeeper admitted: “That’s why I don’t do too many tackles — hopefully I won’t be in that position again.”
The home team carried on huffing and puffing after that, but Jonjo Shelvey roused the crowd in the 58th minute. He barged beyond Philipp Wollscheid, then struck the ball — from a tight angle — and it went between the legs of Butland before unluckily hitting the far post.
That was as good as it got for Swansea. Stoke dropped deep, stayed organised and restricted the home team to a series of shots wide without testing Butland again. The pressure is beginning to build on Monk.
Swansea City (4-2-3-1): L Fabianski — Á Rangel, F Fernández, A Williams, N Taylor — J Shelvey, J Cork (sub: Ki Sung Yueng, 59min) — M Barrow (sub: G Sigurdsson, 59), A Ayew (sub: Éder, 80), J Montero — B Gomis. Substitutes not used: L Britton, K Nordfeldt, K Naughton, K Bartley. Booked: Williams, Shelvey.
Stoke City (4-2-3-1): J Butland — G Johnson, G Cameron, P Wollscheid, E Pieters — C Adam (sub: M van Ginkel, 70), G Whelan — X Shaqiri, Bojan (sub: S Ireland, 79), M Arnautovic (sub: I Afellay, 75) — Joselu. Substitutes not used: M Muniesa, M Wilson, P Crouch, J Haugaard. Booked: Pieters, Shaqiri.
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Referee: R Madley.