Swansea 1 Chelsea 1:CHELSEA SALVAGED a point in the most unlikely of circumstances as Jose Bosingwa's shot deflected off Neil Taylor and beyond Michel Vorm in the second minute of stoppage time to spare Andre Villas-Boas another defeat.
The visitors were down to 10 men at the time, with Ashley Cole sent off after he lunged at Nathan Dyer to pick up a second yellow card. There were only four minutes of normal time remaining when Cole was dismissed, but seeing out the game proved beyond Brendan Rodgers’s side.
On a day when Chelsea announced losses of £67.7 million (€81.5 million), there was a certain irony attached to the sight of a winger they let go for £500,000 (€602,000) only 18 months ago scoring the goal that put Swansea ahead and threatened for long periods to inflict the London club’s sixth Premier League defeat of the season. Scott Sinclair’s controlled volley, shortly before half-time, provided a deserved lead.
Having spent much of the first half on the back foot, Chelsea improved in the second period but were unable to turn pressure into clear chances on a night when Fernando Torres once again toiled up front. This match was a year to the day since Chelsea broke the British transfer record by paying Liverpool £50 million (€60.2 million) for Torres yet there is no sign that the striker is ready to come out of hibernation. He has now failed to score for Chelsea in his last 17 appearances.
This looked like being an awkward evening for Chelsea from the outset. Swansea quickly imposed their easy-on-the-eye passing and took control of proceedings. Their work rate without the ball was every bit as impressive as they pressed Chelsea in numbers and forced them to make mistakes.
A wonderful chance for Swansea to take the lead arrived in the 16th minute when a Chelsea defence missing the injured John Terry was left exposed by Angel Rangel’s lofted through ball, which caused Petr Cech to dash outside his area to clear.
Gylfi Sigurdsson sashayed around Cech, but the midfielder’s shot was blocked by Branislav Ivanovic. Danny Graham pounced on the rebound, but David Luiz cleared off the line and when Joe Allen became the third Swansea player to try his luck in a matter of seconds, Cech was back to save.
Chelsea’s good fortune proved short-lived. Five minutes before the break the impressive Sigurdsson whipped in a free-kick from the right and Bosingwa’s poor defensive header was dispatched by Sinclair in style.
The ball was behind the winger when he swung his left boot, his sweet connection lifting it over Cech and into the top corner. A muted celebration followed out of respect to his former club and their supporters, who had been forced to look on in frustration for much of the opening half.
Daniel Sturridge snatched at an early chance but otherwise Chelsea offered little and might easily have finished the first half down to 10 men. Instead Andre Marriner, the referee, deemed Florent Malouda’s reckless challenge on Leon Britton worthy of no more than a yellow card.
Chelsea played with much more purpose in the second half, the visitors turning the tables on Swansea by pinning them back and dictating the tempo of the game. Yet chances remained at a premium as Swansea sat deep and Chelsea struggled to penetrate. Michael Essien, on for Oriol Romeu, thundered a right-footed volley from 25 yards inches over and Sturridge stabbed wide from much closer in.
Cole’s red card seemed to spell the end for Chelsea, but Bosingwa’s late run and cross helped to bring parity.
Guardian Service
SWANSEA CITY:Vorm, Rangel, Caulker, Williams, Taylor, Britton, Allen, Sigurdsson (Agustien 67), Dyer, Graham, Sinclair (Moore 77). Subs not used: Tremmel, Routledge, Monk, Lita, Richards. Booked: Taylor, Rangel.
CHELSEA: Cech, Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Luiz, Cole, Meireles, Romeu (Essien 65), Malouda (Lukaku 80), Sturridge, Torres, Mata. Subs not used: Turnbull, Ferreira, Cahill, Bertrand, Piazon. Booked: Cole, Malouda, Meireles.
Referee: Andre Marriner(W Midlands).
