Sunday 27 November 2016 12:43, UK
Fernando Llorente is determined to stay at Swansea after settling the craziest Premier League game of the season.
The Spanish striker came off the bench against Crystal Palace to score twice in injury time and secure an incredible 5-4 home win to pile the pressure on under-fire Eagles boss Alan Pardew.
Yet just seven days earlier, Llorente had failed to make the 18-man matchday squad for the 1-1 draw at Everton.
Llorente had only scored once in 10 games following his £5m summer move from Sevilla - and Swansea boss Bob Bradley warned the 31-year-old World Cup winner that he had to find extra mobility in his game.
"I'm very happy here and I think I can help this team," said former Juventus striker Llorente, who was immediately linked with a return to Italy after being dropped at Goodison Park.
"It's difficult for me because of the language. I'd like to speak better than I do now, and I need to continue to study.
"After my (rib) injury, I lost my performance. But I always kept working in training and the coach saw this.
"These two goals are very important for me and my confidence and I feel very good. He (Bradley) has seen me play in other teams and knows I can do a lot of things. And I know I have to keep working for my best performance."
Llorente's arrival proved pivotal in a topsy-turvy contest which saw Swansea claim a first win since the opening day of the season and climb off the bottom at Sunderland's expense.
Gylfi Sigurdsson, who had a hand in all five Swansea goals, scored a stunning free-kick to cancel out Wilfried Zaha's early strike before Llorente's first touch set up the first of two Leroy Fer goals in the space of two second-half
minutes.
But Palace scored three times between the 75th and 84th minutes - through James Tomkins, a Jack Cork own goal and Christian Benteke - before Llorente condemned them to a sixth straight defeat in the most extraordinary circumstances.
"I've never had a game like this," Llorente added. "One time it was 3-0 in the first half and ended 4-3, but this was crazy.
"I think this is the change. After this, I think the team will grow up a lot because this team needs confidence."
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