Five talking points from Chelsea’s defeat to Swansea
Apr 10, 2016 at 1:37 PM
Swansea City clinched their first-ever Premier League victory over Chelsea on Saturday with a 1-0 win at the Liberty Stadium.
Gylfi Sigurdsson claimed the lone goal of the contest in the 25th minute following Chelsea center back Matt Miazga’s botched clearance off a Jefferson Montero cross.
After taking the lead, Swansea pushed more for a second, but they couldn’t get the job done in the final third due to lack of finishing. Luckily for the hosts, Chelsea failed to pose a consistent threat in the attacking half for most of the 90 minutes.
The win gave Swansea officially secure safety as they stepped into the 40-point threshold on Saturday. Chelsea’s defeat was they are first in league outing since 14th December against Leicester City.
Here is a look at five talking points from Swansea’s one-goal win over Chelsea.
Jefferson Montero, a constant danger
Jefferson Montero haunted the Chelsea back four from the very start of the match at the Liberty Stadium.
It is the 26-year-old Ecuadorian who actually helped to create the only goal of the game in the 25th minute, as his cross went off Miazga’s head before the ball came to Sigurdsson.
Montero continued to terrorize the visiting defense with his brilliant skill and pace on the left wing before he was substituted in the 84th minute.
The only blame on Montero’s perfect outing was in the 76th minute when he missed an open header off a Sigurdsson cross.
Matt Miazga – a complete failure
A week after a perfect debut against Aston Villa, United States center back Matt Miazga was to some extent overwhelmed by the moment on a few occasions at the Liberty Stadium.
The former New York Red Bulls man started confidently with an impressive sliding tackle in the eighth minute, but his play got worse as the first half went on.
The biggest mistake he committed, came in the 25th minute when his poor clearance ultimately dropped straight to Gylfi Sigurdsson.
Because of his poor display in his own half over the first 45 minutes, Miazga was replaced by Kenedy at half-time, and Guus Hiddink shifted John Obi Mikel to center back for the second half.
Ashley Williams leading from the front
Swansea skipper Ashley Williams found himself in all the right spots yesterday as his team managed to limit Chelsea’s opportunities in the final third.
The best moment from the Welshman came in the 86th minute when he cunningly tracked Bertrand Traore’s pass to Radamel Falcao and took the sting out of the Colombian attacker’s shot.
The 31-year-old and his teammates in the back four held a desperate Chelsea to two shots on target during the convincing win which helped them reach the 40-point mark.
Swansea’s victory on Saturday also officially throws away the relegation concerns which have circled the club for the last few months.
Alexandre Pato
Alexandre Pato’s first start in a Chelsea shirt did not go as Guus Hiddink and his Chelsea staffs planned it would.
The 26-year-old Brazilian had only 16 touches over 63 minutes, as he failed to challenge the Swans with his sloppy movement in the final third.
When Pato received a golden opportunity to level the fight in the 55th minute, Pato decided for flair rather than a simple finish a few feet away from the net.
The pathetic performance by the Brazilian didn’t at all help his stock at the club, but luckily for him, no one else was able to stand out at forward on Saturday.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek substitution
Ruben Loftus-Cheek seemed the only bright spot in attack for Chelsea on Saturday which saw a pathetic performance from both Pato and Pedro.
The 20-year-old midfielder on a few occasions found his way through the Swansea defence-line on Saturday, but he received very little support when he reached the penalty area.
Loftus-Cheek was certainly on the wrong end of a mysterious decision in the 75th minute, when Hiddink substituted him for Falcao.
Instead of providing more help to his best attacker on the day, Hiddink removed him and took the creativity out of his front line.