MX23RW : Thursday, March 28 15:05:14| >> :60:2888:2888:
[monks data]
Attendance: 20,865
Swansea logo
Premier League
Sep 11, 2016 at 4pm UK
 
Chelsea logo

2-2

Sigurdsson (59' pen.), Fer (62')
FT(HT: 0-1)
Costa (18', 81')

Swansea City, Chelsea share points in frantic match at Liberty Stadium

Diego Costa scores twice for Chelsea away at Swansea City but the Blues drop points for the first time this season as they are held to a 2-2 draw in South Wales.

Chelsea let slip a one-goal lead but battled back in the final 10 minutes to earn a share of the spoils in a thrilling 2-2 draw against Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium.

In a match full of talking points, particularly in the second period, the Swans turned the game on its head before seeing a second win on the bounce against their opponents slip away late on.

Diego Costa scored twice for his team either side of a Gylfi Sigurdsson penalty and Leroy Fer strike, meaning that Antonio Conte's winning start to life at Chelsea has come to an end - but it could have been much worse for the Italian.

The hosts went with a new five-at-the-back system from the off, which they failed to adjust to early on as Willian was allowed to drift into the box and test Lukasz Fabianski with a stinging shot.

Chelsea were seeing plenty of the ball in the opening quarter of the match, but prior to their goal the Swans' backline did not have a great deal to keep out.

Star man Costa's breakthrough strike 18 minutes in gave the Blues a platform to build on, however, as the home side failed with three attempts to clear Branislav Ivanovic's deep cross into the box.

Federico Fernandez was most at fault, twice heading straight into the air which allowed Oscar to tee up his teammate to coolly tuck the ball out of Fabianski's reach.

Less than two minutes later Eden Hazard was able to ease his way past four players and into the box, only to be thwarted by Fabianski at the front post with only the keeper to beat.

Cesar Azpilicueta was the next visiting player to have an attempt, again looking to beat the Polish stopper at his near post to no avail, and that forced Francesco Guidolin into action as a back five became a back three shortly before half time.

Neil Taylor was the man to be sacrificed on his first league start of the season, which he did not take too kindly to as he left the field, and the change of system did not pay any immediate dividends as only a poor Costa miss from two yards out prevented the Welsh outfit from falling further behind.

The big talking point in the opening stages of an explosive second half came early on when Jordi Amat, fresh off the back of receiving a yellow card, lunged in on Ivanovic rather needlessly but avoided further punishment.

Despite being on top pretty much throughout, Chelsea were made to pay for falling to extend their lead when City launched a rare counter-attack which led to a penalty kick being awarded.

Sigurdsson chased down a pass and got to the ball ahead of Thibaut Courtois, who was himself lucky to avoid being dismissed, and the Iceland international blasted the ball down the middle to become Swansea's record Premier League scorer.

The hosts used that goal as momentum to push on and they were ahead less than three minutes later when Gary Cahill was caught in possession by Fer, who raced through and prodded past Courtois to change the complexion of the game completely.

Things really came to life from that point on, as Hazard fluffed his lines in a promising position moments later before Costa was seemingly bundled over by Fabianski, but replays showed that referee Andre Marriner made the right call when waving play on.

Chelsea have already recovered from a goal down this term at Watford, and they did all they could to claw themselves back level as Oscar curled a shot towards the top corner for Fabianski to help on its way over.

Conte, staring a first defeat as Chelsea boss right in the face, brought on Cesc Fabregas and Victor Moses as the game entered its final 15 minutes, and the pressure soon became unbearable for the hosts.

Oscar was involved in all Chelsea's best moments, heading wide from a promising position and dragging another shot wide, but then the leveller did arrive when Costa acrobatically found the back of the net from close range after the Swans again failed to deal with a cross into the box.

Costa had another shot on goal saved in the closing stages and Fabregas's close-range shot was also blocked aside, yet there was to be no fifth goal in an entertaining match as the teams were made to settle for a point apiece in South Wales.

ID:281100: cacheID:281100:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:7100:No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
David Luiz of Chelsea looks on ahead of the Barclays Premier League match between Aston Villa and Chelsea at Villa Park on May 11, 2013
Read Next:
Conte: 'Luiz can become one of world's best'
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Arsenal28204470244664
2Liverpool28197265263964
3Manchester CityMan City28196363283563
4Aston Villa29175760421856
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs28165759421753
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd28152113939047
7West Ham UnitedWest Ham2912894650-444
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2811985044642
9Wolverhampton WanderersWolves28125114244-241
10Newcastle UnitedNewcastle281241259481140
11Chelsea27116104745239
12Fulham29115134344-138
13Bournemouth2898114152-1135
14Crystal Palace2878133348-1529
15Brentford2975174154-1326
16Everton2887132939-1025
17Luton TownLuton2957174260-1822
18Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest2967163551-1621
19Burnley2945202963-3417
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd2835202474-5014


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!