A brace from Diego Costa and Oscar inside the first half helped the Blues secure a comprehensive 5-0 win over Swansea and move five points clear at the top of the table. Oscar broke the deadlock inside the first minute and set the tone for the rest of the game. Costa soon followed it with a goal of his own, after some neat interplay by Fabregas and Willian. The Spaniard doubled his tally before half-time after latching onto a under-hit back pass from Federico Fernandez. Oscar made it 4-0, a few minutes later as he converted Costa’s pass.
Although the visitors took their foot off the pedal in the second half, there was still time for Andre Schurrle to score a goal and cap a five-star performance from the Blues. Here are the major talking points from the game.
Chelsea arrest away day blues
Chelsea had collected just five points from their last five away matches. Although they were still leading the League, many thought that a trip to the Liberty stadium, where only Tottenham and Southampton have emerged victorious this season was going to be a tricky encounter. But once Oscar opened the scoring, the result was never really in doubt.
A combination of Chelsea’s fantastic free-flowing attacking football, coupled with some dreadful defending from the home side ensured that the Blues left the stadium with their biggest away win of this season. There were no diatribes from Mourinho after the game as he was left wondering how they started this slump in the first place. This result not only arrested their mini slump away from home, they also showed just why they are most people’s favourites to win the League, with a display that oozed class.
Defensive disaster makes it easy for Chelsea
Mistakes are as much a part of football as they are of life. But the important thing is to learn from the mistakes and ensure that the same mistake isn’t repeated over and over again. Against Chelsea, the Swans simply refused to learn from their mistakes and as a result, were completely humiliated in front of their home fans. While all the talk before the game was about Wilfried Bony and how they would cope without, Garry Monk was left wondering how a side which had conceded just eight goals at home so far this season, could concede more than half of that in a single game.
When Swansea’s best player this season, Gylfi Sigurdsson gave the ball away to Oscar and was promptly punished in the first minute, you had a feeling that this wasn’t going to be their day. Aside from hitting post a minute after conceding the goal, the home side did nothing right all game long. Not only did they make mistakes that led to goals, but they also failed to put pressure on the players that were in possession. As a result, a tough contest turned into a training ground exercise as the Blues ran riot.
Total domination from five-star Blues
Despite their erratic away form, over the past few weeks, few can deny that Chelsea have been the most enterprising team in the Premier League this season. Not only have they been winning games, they have also been playing some stunning football that is very easy on the eye. With a solid foundation at the back, the likes of Oscar, Willian, Hazard and Fabregas have been the freedom to express themselves.
Against Swansea, they showed just what they are capable of, when they turn on the style. Even when kept possession of the ball, they always ensured that there was something at the end of it, instead of being just sterile domination. From the first minute to the last, the Blues were in complete control on Saturday and could have gone into double digits, had it not been for the post and the substitutions in the second half. If anyone had any doubts about their title credentials, then this performance will certainly put that to bed and increase the pressure on Manchester City to beat Arsenal.