Match Summary
Chelsea were left reeling as a controversial second goal for Swansea saw the Blues drop their first two points.
Costa opened the scoring but the tables turned quickly in three second-half minutes when Courtois lost the plot and conceded a penalty, from which Sigurdsson converted, and then Fer put the Welsh side in front after clearly fouling Cahill in the build-up. An angry Chelsea equalised through Diego Costa but the draw will feel like a loss.
Conte will still be pleased with his side’s endeavour and never-say-die attitude, but was clearly down post-match as Chelsea’s 100% winning run comes to an end.
It was Chelsea who made the most of the game’s openings, with Willian setting the tone with a fierce strike against Fabianski.
The Pole would not have such luck with Chelsea’s opener after 18 minutes however. Ivanovic’s cross found Oscar who laid it onto Costa to sweep home the game’s first.
It could have gone from bad to worse for the hosts had Hazard capitalised on being allowed through the Swansea midfield but Fabianski spared his side’s blushes, and would further still from an Azpilicueta strike.
Such a dominant opening half an hour saw Guidolin bring about a tactical switch with the first half not even over as Taylor unhappily made way for Barrow. Costa should have made the game more comfortable in the visitors’ favour before the break and his side was made to pay early in the second half.
A Chelsea corner saw Swansea charge up the other end on the counter and Courtois could only foul Sigurdsson, who tucked away the spot kick. Fortunately the new change in rules meant no red card for Courtois — it was only the yellow — but it was his clean sheet gone and, crucially, his side’s lead gone.
Things became calamitous moments later as Swansea made it two in three minutes, and from only their second shot on target, but whilst Courtois can have no complains about fouling Sigurdsson, Cahill has every right to complain after being fouled by Fer.
The Dutchman was quick to pounce as Cahill dallied on the ball, but quite clearly came through the back of the Chelsea defender before slotting home past an equally unconvincing Courtois. It made the lack of efficiency in the first half ever more relevant.
Oscar tried to stir his side’s fight back, and Conte brought on Fabregas and Moses for added ingenuity and pace.
That brought about the equaliser: Fabregas found Oscar who found Ivanovic, with the Serbian looping a ball up for Costa to scissor-kick home, and despite a late flurry of pressure, both sides shared the spoils.
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Man of the Match
DIEGO COSTA: The man of the moment again, opening the scoring and, when his side were rattled after a dubious Swansea second, the Spaniard dusted himself down, took it upon himself to dig his side out of it and acrobatically levelled. Whilst it was not enough for the points, Conte must surely be pleased his main man is this fired up from the very beginning of the season. 8/10
Manager Reaction
Conte knew it was two points dropped: “It’s very difficult to talk about the game because we lost two points. We were leading 1-0 and created a lot of chances to score another goal. We are disappointed because the performance was very good in terms of our intensity and because we played good football.”
Guidolin was content to settle for the point: “I am happy with the result. My team played the second half with more energy against a very strong team.”