Chelsea opened up a five point gap at the top of the Premier League table with a thumping win over Swansea at the Liberty Stadium. The Blues got off to a flyer with Oscar scoring in the first minute. Diego Costa added two more goals, before Oscar scored again. Andre Schurrle came off the bench to wrap up an impressive win for the visitors.
Thibaut Courtois once again missed out having not fully recovered from a finger injury, with Petr Cech continuing in goal. Mourinho picked a strong side, and he showed no intention of resting players ahead of the trip to Anfield on Tuesday. Felipe Luis came in for Cesar Azpilicueta at left back.
Chelsea’s trip to the Liberty last season was a struggle, but Oscar made sure this time would be easier by opening the scoring early on. Gylfi Sigurdsson gave the ball away and the Brazilian was right on to it, before hammering an effort in from just outside the box. That summed up Swansea’s day, as they were sloppy against a ruthless Chelsea side.
The second goal came after 20 minutes, with Cesc Fabregas, Oscar and Willian playing some neat passing football around the Swansea area. Once again it was Fabregas who got the assist, as he found Costa who was free in the box, and he applied the finish to double the lead. Strangely, in a game were Chelsea scored five, that was Fabregas’ only assist of the day.
That may have been down to how helpful the Swansea defenders were, as their uncharacteristic misplaced passes led to a few goals. That happened for the third one, as Fernandez gave the ball away to Costa who had just the keeper to beat, and he provided the finish that extended the lead.
The game was completely over by half time, when the Blues extended their lead even further. Costa turned provider this time when Willian fed him the ball on the right hand side. He looked up and found the run of Oscar, who swept the ball home to score his second of the game, and put the result here beyond doubt.
A response from Swansea was to be expected in the second half, and they looked more solid after the break. The second period couldn’t quite match up to the action packed first, and inevitably there were changes made with an eye on the game on Tuesday. Fabregas, Costa and Willian all made way, with Ramires, Loic Remy and Schurrle coming on.
It was Schurrle who had the biggest impact, when he finished off the scoring with the fifth goal. Branislav Ivanovic played a one-two with Eden Hazard and then he cut the ball back across the box into the path of Schurrle, who tapped home from close range. Next up for the Blues are two big games, with Liverpool away coming on Tuesday, before the clash against Manchester City on Saturday.
LCN Man of the Match: Diego Costa