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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')

Live Commentary: Swansea City 2-2 Chelsea - as it happened

Relive Sports Mole's live text coverage of Swansea City's 2-2 draw with Chelsea, as the Swans battled back from behind but failed to hold on.
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Diego Costa scored twice to keep Antonio Conte's unbeaten start to life at Chelsea intact, as they claimed a 2-2 draw from their trip to Swansea City.

The Blues looked comfortable when one goal to the good in the first half, but were made to pay for failing to take their chances when Gylfi Sigurdsson converted from the penalty spot.

Leroy Fer added a second two minutes and 10 seconds later to complete the comeback, only for Costa to pop up late on to ensure that his side returned to the English capital with a share of the spoils.

Relive how the entertaining match unfolded with Sports Mole's live text coverage below.


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Hello and welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of the Premier League meeting between Swansea City and Chelsea at the Liberty Stadium. The Blues are now one of just two unbeaten sides left in the English top flight, albeit having played one game less than the division's early pacesetters Manchester City. They have a chance to draw level with the Citizens this afternoon, requiring a two-goal margin of victory to do so.

The season has not started quite so brightly for Swansea, on the other hand, as they have suffered back-to-back defeats since their late opening-day win at Burnley, leaving them down in 16th at this admittedly early stage in proceedings. It all remains very tight at this stage, though, with a victory here today enough to lift the Welsh outfit into ninth place.

TEAM NEWS!

SWANSEA CITY XI: Fabianski; Naughton, Fernandez, Amat, Kingsley, Taylor; Ki, Cork, Fer; Sigurdsson; Llorente

CHELSEA XI: Courtois; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta; Kante; Willian, Oscar, Matic, Hazard; Costa


Let us get straight into things by checking out some team news from the Liberty Stadium, then, which in Chelsea's case shown no changes from last time out. Deadline-day recruits Marcos Alonso and David Luiz are both made to wait for their debuts - something Antonio Conte made clear in his pre-match press conference ahead of today's game. John Terry and Gary Cahill are therefore the men to once again start in the heart of the Blues' defence.

Diego Costa has started the season in a positive manner, as he has done for the past two years at the club, and he will again be tasked with leading the line this afternoon. Willian and Eden Hazard are the players tasked with providing some attacking support, while Oscar, Nemanja Matic and N'Golo Kante make up the three-man defensive midfield, although it is the latter who will sit deepest in what could become a 4-1-4-1. That means that Cesc Fabregas must again watch on from the bench.

As far as the hosts are concerned, Francesco Guidolin has gone with two alterations from his side's 2-1 defeat at the home of champions Leicester City last time out. Neil Taylor has been made to wait for a starting spot, having played a crucial part in Wales' run to the European Championship finals in the summer, but he is now back to full fitness after getting 90 minutes under his belt in his nation's qualifier with Moldova six days ago.

Ki Sung-Yueng also comes back into the side in a big boost for the Swans, with Wayne Routledge the man to drop out - the winger not even making it on to the hosts' bench this afternoon. City look as though they will go with a five-at-the-back formation for the visit of Chelsea - or three at the back when in attacking transition - meaning a place in the heart of defence for full-back Stephen Kingsley.

BENCH WATCH!

SWANSEA CITY SUBS: Nordfeldt, Rangel, Van der Hoorn, Fulton, Britton, Montero, Barrow

CHELSEA SUBS: Begovic, Luiz, Alonso, Fabregas, Moses, Pedro, Batshuayi


So Fabregas is made to settle for a place on the Chelsea bench yet again, while Victor Moses, Michy Batshuayi and Pedro are also included in a strong-looking squad. Luiz and Alonso could well play a part at some stage, but Conte is cautious of throwing either player straight into the mix - particularly the Brazilian who will be well and truly under the spotlight following his return to the club.

Swansea brought in defender Mike van der Hoorn in the summer, but a full-back is preferred in the heart of defence this afternoon as he is named on the Swans' bench. The good news for the hosts is that Fernando Llorente should now be fit and firing after a two-week break from Premier League action, although the absence of record signing Borja Baston - still lacking fitness - is surely a concern for supporters.

Chelsea shocked many by bringing in David Luiz from Paris Saint-Germain on transfer-deadline day, as Antonio Conte was made to bring in a defender at the last minute after missing out on his preferred targets. The Brazil international starts on the bench today, as does fellow new recruit Marcos Alonso, as the Blues remain unchanged from last time out.

Paris Saint-Germain's Brazilian defender David Luiz looks on before the UEFA Champions league quarter-final first leg football match PSG vs FC Barcelona at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris on April 15, 2015© Getty Images


Much of the focus will of course be on Chelsea over the next couple of hours, but Swansea are themselves desperate for a positive result in South Wales this afternoon. Guidolin's men have claimed three points from a possible nine so far, coming against Burnley on the opening day, although they were perhaps a little unlucky not to claim a point at Leicester a fortnight ago following a strong finish to the match.

The only disappointing result so far came in their last home fixture, as they fell to defeat against surprise package Hull City. A lack of goals is a tad worrying, with only Leroy Fer so far registering for the season - both of his goals coming in the final stages of games. Llorente and Baston could form a formidable partnership, yet from the outside looking in the Swans' transfer business was a tad risky as the Premier League new boys will need to settle quickly.

That has not quite happened in Llorente's case, as he has failed to score in his first four outings for the club, while Baston has not even made an appearance yet! Sigurdsson and Fer have instead been the men most likely to ask questions of opposition defences, with the former in particular a real gem who was wanted by a number of clubs during the summer. £30m has been spent in total during the summer; Baston, Llorente, Alfie Mawson, Van Der Hoorn and Fer all being handed permanent deals.

Guidolin spoke earlier this week about being happy with his transfer business, despite some concerns off the field, and he will need to see that faith rewarded because the Swans have a difficult run ahead. After facing an in-form Chelsea today, the Welsh outfit must also prepare for games against Liverpool and Manchester City in their next three outings. Momentum may be tough to come by early on, which is not too great following last season's struggles.

City were in real danger of being sucked into the bottom three at one point in the campaign, but they pulled away well in the final third of the season and instead only had eyes on the top half from that stage on. Guidolin was rewarded for that in the summer when offered the job on a long-term basis, and supporters will be confident of a result today as they have yet to lose three in a row under the Italian head coach.

DID YOU KNOW? Antonio Conte remained unbeaten in his six meetings against Francesco Guidolin in Serie A, winning six and drawing one of their six games. Guidolin has taken charge of 16 teams in a coaching career spanning nearly 30 years, including a four-year stint at Udinese most recently, yet he arrived in Britain as an unknown quantity at the start of the year.

The bad news for Swansea is that they do not usually perform all that well against Chelsea, having shipped more goals against the Blues (21) than any other side during their stint in the Premier League. It also goes without saying that Conte's men arrive in South Wales on the crest of a wave, thanks to three wins from three in the league and four from four in all competitions.

All eyes would have been on Manchester yesterday afternoon as far as Conte and his players are concerned, with both the division's two other perfect sides locking horns at Old Trafford. It was Man City who deservedly came out on top against arch rivals Man United in that one, sending out a real message to the rest of the league's elite sides. Now it is the turn of Chelsea to put on a performance, knowing that they can move level on points with the Citizens with a victory here today.

Chelsea may have started the season in a winning manner, but delve a little deeper and it has not been perfect in terms of performances. The 2-1 win over West Ham United on the opening weekend was fortunate in many ways; a late Diego Costa goal - a man who should not have been on the pitch at that stage - earning the points for his side. The Blues also had to fight back from behind to beat Watford late on in their second game, before a far more straightforward triumph over Burnley two weeks ago.

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte strikes a pose on August 20, 2016© SilverHub


This is another fixture that the Blues will be heavily backed to win, with far tougher tests to come further down the line. Liverpool provide Chelsea's next opponents in what should be a thriller on Friday evening, while also locking horns with London rivals Arsenal in the next fortnight. Conte will be desperate to keep this winning feeling ticking over for those difficult matches which could go a long way to telling us just how strong this side is.

Victory for Chelsea today will make it four on the bounce in the Premier League for Conte, then, but he is not alone in achieving a perfect start in west London. Carlo Ancelotti, Jose Mourinho and Guus Hiddink have all pulled it off, with the Blues going on to lift the Premier League title each time they have begun with four wins from four. The omens are certainly looking good, yet it is still early days in what is expected to be the tightest of title races.

PREVIOUS MEETINGS! Swansea City won this corresponding fixture last season - their only victory in 10 attempts against Chelsea. The Blues did win here 5-0 in their previous visit en route to the Premier League title, however, which remains the Swans' record defeat in the top flight since their return to this level. As mentioned a little earlier, Chelsea have also scored more goals (21) against City than any other Prem side.

With a little under 15 minutes to go until kickoff in South Wales, let us now check out some of the pre-match views from both camps.

Francesco Guidolin: "[Conte] played with Juventus for 13 years and I managed Vicenza, Udinese and Bologna teams against him. Every year I met him and he almost always won because Juventus had the best squad in Italy, and Serie A was the most important league in that period. His career as a player was good and now he has a very good career as manager. He is one of the most important managers in Europe."

Antonio Conte: "We have bought David Luiz because we need a centre-back. In this squad, there were Cahill and Terry, and sometimes we adapt Branislav Ivanovic in this role. But we needed centre-backs so, for that reason, we bought him. I know David Luiz has played in midfield before but, in my mind now, that is not an idea for us. I think this squad can play 3-4-3, not 3-5-2 like the national team in Italy and Juventus but, because of the characteristics of the players, we can play 3-4-3."


Guidolin with plenty of praise for his opposite number, then, despite that poor record that I mentioned a little earlier - seven meetings, zero victories for the more-experienced boss. Conte was asked plenty of questions about the returning Luiz, with his intention to go with a five-man backline quite clear to see. For now it remains a more straightforward four-at-the-back, although intriguingly today's opponents look likely to go with two wing-backs.

This match has been set up very nicely in terms of this weekend's other results; Swansea requiring a win to climb into the top half and Chelsea knowing that victory will see them draw level with Manchester City at the summit. Guidolin may be, privately at least, concerned not to have Borja Baston to call upon still, but in Llorente there is a real targetman for the likes of Sigurdsson and Fer to feed off.

For Chelsea, they will see this as a chance to register three more points in their pursuit of clawing back the league title from Leicester. The Blues boast a very strong and attacking bench this afternoon should they need to chase a goal, but in Costa, Willian and Hazard they already boast three players with more than enough ability to get the job done on their own. Still, constantly overlooking Fabregas does seem a little strange.

PREDICTION! Chelsea are the strong favourites to take three points back to London this afternoon, as they go in search of a fifth win in five outings overall this season. They look to be closer to the side of 2014-15 than what we saw last season, doing just about enough to see off West Ham and Watford so far while also cruising past a poor Burnley outfit. City will surely see a point as a good return from this fixture, but they will fall to a 2-0 reverse on home soil.

Both sets of players are now making their way down the tunnel area at the Liberty Stadium, with kickoff less than five minutes away. City supporters saw an abject display here in their last outing, falling to a 2-0 defeat at the hand of Hull, but now they have the perfect chance to make up for that by making it back-to-back wins over Chelsea on home soil. A bright start is imperative for them,

Swansea City beat Chelsea 1-0 here the last time the two teams met, courtesy of a Gylfi Sigurdsson goal, but that was their only win over the Blues in 10 attempts. The hosts go with a new system today, while Chelsea are as you were from last time out in what is likely to be a 4-1-4-1 formation.

Gylfi Sigurdsson celebrates opening the scoring during the Premier League game between Swansea City and Chelsea on April 9, 2016© Getty Images


KICKOFF! Swansea City get us under way at the Liberty Stadium, sporting their traditional all-white kit. Chelsea, prominently in black today, look to get forward early on but their first attacking move soon fizzles out.

Amat leads with an elbow in the back of Costa - the type of challenge that so often riles the Spain international but on this occasion goes by without any sort of reaction. City just looking to settle into this five-at-the-back system, with Cork dropping deep to pick up possession.

Kingsley, in a different defensive role today, goes in late on Willian when the ball got away from him but avoids a caution. Taylor gets high up the pitch, as can be expected throughout this match, and sends in a cross for Cahill to head away for a throw-in.

SAVE! Willian does not need to be asked twice to take on a shot, and he does exactly that when allowed to drive into the opposition box. His shot did not look all that difficult to deal with, in truth, but Fabianski simply slapped the ball behind for a corner.

Willian sends a free kick in towards the back-post area, where Ivanovic just about emerged from the crowd to head well wide of the target. No real goalmouth action so far at the Liberty Stadium, bar that one stinging Willian drive a few minutes ago.

Willian is proving to be the biggest threat on the field at the moment, as he bursts down the right and sends in a shot-cross that Fabianski reads well to collect down low. Positive enough start for the Blues, who are the side just about on top.

Amat does well to step out of midfield and win the ball back from the opposition, preventing Willian and Hazard from clicking into gear. The Swans doing well to break play up at the moment, but Willian has had the odd glance of goal.

Chelsea trying to play their way up the field from the back, but possession is lost and Azpilicueta is forced to pull back on Ki to concede a free kick. Sigurdsson sends in an inviting delivery which no player in white can get a touch on.

Not seen a great deal from Chelsea over the past five or six minutes, as Swansea look to mount some attacks of their own. Nearly a quarter of the match played and still just that one Willian shot on target thus far in South Wales.

GOAL! SWANSEA CITY 0-1 CHELSEA (DIEGO COSTA)

A fine finish from Costa to give Chelsea the lead - but very poor defending from the hosts. Three times the Swans fail to clear their lines when a high cross comes into the box, as Fernandez twice sends his headed clearance straight into the air, which allowed Oscar to lay the ball off for his teammate to tuck into the bottom corner.

SAVE! It should be two-nil to the visitors, as Hazard simply drifts his way past three or four opposition players but fails to tuck the ball past Fabianski at this near post. Big save from the Polish stopper to keep his side in touching distance.

Chelsea finding so many gaps at the back now, as Swansea struggle to get to grips with this new system. The ball is laid off to Oscar on the edge of the box, but his shot is deflected well behind for a corner. The Blues closing in on a second goal.

The home fans are getting really aggrieved now, as each time their side try to get forward the ball ends up straight at a Chelsea player's foot for another attack. Kante is the latest to blast high over the bar from inside the box.

Guidolin may be tempted to change things around, even at this early stage, with his team struggling badly to grab a foothold on the game. Cork the man looking to make things happen, but Chelsea's defensive players have been so comfortable.

YELLOW CARD! Diego Costa pounces on a loose ball only to be halted by Leroy Fer, meaning a first caution of the afternoon. Chelsea supporters the ones making the noise at the moment at the Liberty Stadium.

Amat against Costa is one to keep on eye on, with the former going in on his opponent a few times already. Costa quickly back on his feet again on this occasion, yet he does have a shorter temper than most as we have come to find out.

Swansea looking more composed now after a 10-minute spell that saw them struggle to get out of their own half, but they have been unable to muster any serious attack so far. Chelsea have dropped back into first gear all of a sudden, meanwhile.

SAVE! A cheeky attempt from Azpilicueta, who looks to catch Fabianski off guard at his near post when Hazard was waiting for the pull-back. The wrong choice in the end, as the Swansea keeper stood firm to concede just a corner.

Costa decides to shoot from a Chelsea free kick, sending the ball well wide of the target. Guidolin will be happy to see his side just the one goal behind heading into the interval, which is now less than 10 minutes away.

Swansea win a corner which Sigurdsson again delivers dangerously. For all of Chelsea' dominance for large parts of this half, all it takes is for a City player to get on the end of one of these crosses and all of a sudden we are level.

Willian has acres of space to get a shot away at one end, which is eventually blocked away, and Swansea counter up the other. It comes to nothing but that was a promising move, showing that this one-goal margin might not be enough.

CLOSE! Well from near enough nothing Sigurdsson wraps his boot around a loose ball 25 yards from goal and sends it just inches wide of goal. Costa is shown a yellow for a challenge in the build-up to the move, while Barrow has come on for Taylor as Swansea switch to a back four.

CHANCE! What a miss this is from John Terry. A tap-in at the back post from a corner goes begging, as he gets his contact all wrong from two yards out and instead sends the ball across the face of goal. Shocker of a miss, that!

HALF TIME: SWANSEA CITY 0-1 CHELSEA

The half-time whistle sounds at the Liberty Stadium, meaning a 1-0 lead for Chelsea over Swansea City at the break. It has not been a half of football packed with chances, but it was entertaining enough and the Blues deservedly lead through Diego Costa's well-taken finish.

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.

Diego 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 allowed 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 become 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 as he left the field, and the change of system did not pay any immediate dividends as only a poor John Terry miss from two yards out prevented the Welsh outfit from falling further behind. That means it remains at just 1-0 at this midway point.

Swansea boss Francesco Guidolin has already made one alteration, bringing on Modou Barrow for Neil Taylor in an attempt to get his side back into the groove of things. Conte has plenty of attacking options, meanwhile, as well as deadline-day recruits Luiz and Alonso in defence.

SWANSEA CITY SUBS: Nordfeldt, Rangel, Van der Hoorn, Fulton, Britton, Montero

CHELSEA SUBS: Begovic, Luiz, Alonso, Fabregas, Moses, Pedro, Batshuayi

Modou Barrow in action for Swansea on November 29, 2014© Getty Images


RESTART! Simply not good enough from the home side in that first half, it is fair to say, but will Guidolin's words be strong enough to see an improvement? No further changes made by either manager at the break.

Willian is again allowed to work the ball on to his favoured boot and curl an attempt towards the bottom corner. It was always heading wide but Costa - who probably would have been flagged for offside - was sliding in at the back post.

YELLOW CARD! The battle between Amat and Costa continues but, after one challenge too many, the Swansea defender is shown a caution. He now needs to be careful, but we can surely expect Costa to make the most of that by getting at his opponent.

This match is threatening to boil over at the moment. Costa is really getting under the home fans' skin, and again draws a challenge from Amat who is maybe fortunate to avoid a second yellow card. Willian sends a free kick into the box which deflects into the path of Fabianski.

A rare shot for the hosts, as Naughton blasts one over the bar. Far from an easy one to take on for the defender, but that again shows just how fragile the Blues' lead is, no matter how deserved it may be. Thirty-five minutes to go!

Amat clearly missing a brain cell, because he has again lunged in when he did not need to when already on a yellow card. The referee calls over Swansea's skipper to try and diffuse the situation, with limited chances in this match but plenty of spice.

PENALTY TO SWANSEA! Oscar's free kick is easily dealt with and Swansea quickly break. Courtois races out in an attempt to get a ball that he was never likely to reach, instead bringing down Sigurdsson and conceding a penalty.

GOAL! SWANSEA CITY 1-1 CHELSEA (GYLFI SIGURDSSON, PEN)

Second best for near enough the entire match, Swansea level up from the spot as Sigurdsson moves ahead of Bony as the Swans' top Premier League scorer of all time. The Iceland international went right down the middle with his attempt, punishing Courtois for that poor decision making.

GOAL! SWANSEA CITY 2-1 CHELSEA (LEROY FER)

Unbelievable. How often do you see this in football?! Chelsea have pretty much dominated the whole game, but just like that they throw their one-goal lead away and now trail with 25 minutes to go. Cahill was at fault, caught in possession at the back which allowed Fer to stroll through and poke the ball home for his side.

Chelsea players furious following that goal, claiming that Fer shoved Cahill in the back, but this is all Chelsea's own doing for failing to capitalise when on top. Hazard just had a good chance to level up but he fluffed his lines, before Fabianski looked to brink Costa down. Referee says no, and replays suggest he was correct.

SAVE! Chelsea again on top now after falling behind, as Costa curls a shot towards the top corner which Fabianski superbly tips over the bar. What a game we have on our hands now, in what has been an explosive second half of football.

We have already seen Chelsea battle back from a goal down this season, and they certainly know how to fight until the final seconds, but this is a different test altogether having blown the lead when in such a promising position. Twenty minutes to go now!

A decent ball into the back post has Costa's name all over it, but he made too much contact with Naughton in the process and a free kick is awarded. Conte has so many attacking options to call upon but he has yet to roll the dice.

CHELSEA SUBS! an unhappy Willian and Matic depart, with Fabregas and Moses the two players to be introduced. Fabregas changed the game at Watford last month - can he do the same this afternoon in South Wales?

SHOT! Oscar drags a shot wide of goal, having done well to hold his run, but he had some space to run into and perhaps should have done so rather than pulling the trigger early. Now just 15 minutes left to play at the Liberty Stadium.

CHANCE! Moses trying his best to make something happen down the right, while Fabregas has not see too much of the ball since coming on. Batshuayi still on the bench, as Costa heads wide of the target unmarked from less than 10 yards out. Big chance, that!

GOAL! SWANSEA CITY 2-2 CHELSEA (DIEGO COSTA)

Superb play from Costa, who has been a real threat throughout. Swansea again fail to deal with a ball into the box, this time under far more pressure than before, and the ball falls for the Spain international to acrobatically fire home from five yards out. It took a deflection on its way through but that will go down as a Costa goal.

SAVE! An incredible second half to this game, as a save is made up one end which leads to a Chelsea counter - Hazard laying the ball off for Costa to blast on goal. Another fine save made by Fabianski to keep us at 2-2.

Barrow's cross is a little deep for Sigurdsson to take on the shot. The ball does drop for Fer following some hesitation but Chelsea just about deal with it. There is a fifth goal in this game - which way it goes is anyone's guess.

SUBS! Barrow's cross is collected by Courtois and again Chelsea break forward. A shot comes in but is well blocked away. Finally Batshuayi is brought on for Oscar, while Sigurdsson is replaced by Rangel for the hosts.

YELLOW CARD! Chelsea lose the ball on the edge of their own box and all of a sudden it is three on one. Hazard is forced to pull back Fer to prevent the attack developing further, earning a yellow card and very much taking one for the team.

YELLOW CARD! So much happening at the moment! Terry is booked moments after Fabregas had a clean shot on goal blocked around 12 yards out. Swansea are happy with the point at this stage but the Blues giving their all to get the win.

FULL TIME: SWANSEA CITY 2-2 CHELSEA

Referee Andre Marriner brings this thrilling game of football to a close, with the sides being made to settle for a point apiece. Swansea City somehow battled back from a goal down in the second half, despite being completely out of the game at one stage, but Chelsea did manage to level up thanks to Diego Costa's second of the contest to keep Antonio Conte's unbeaten start intact.

Well that concludes Sports Mole's live text coverage of events at the Liberty Stadium, but be sure to check out this on-the-whistle report following what was another great advert for the Premier League. There will also be plenty of reaction in the coming hours, so be sure to stick around for that. Thanks for joining!

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