The 2016-17 Premier League season lived up to its reputation as one of the most unpredictable in the world as we saw Swansea and Chelsea and Swansea share the spoils at the Liberty Stadium in a roller coaster of a match.
The Blues completely dominated proceedings and took the lead through Diego Costa but two mistakes in two minutes from Thibaut Courtois and Gary Cahill saw Swansea turn the game on its head – equalising through a Sigurdsson penalty and a howler from Gary Cahill which Leroy Fer capitalised on.
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Antonio Conte’s men did equalise as Costa scored a wonderful bicycle kick but Chelsea fall two points behind leaders Manchester City who beat Manchester United 2-1 on Saturday.
Let’s take a look and how the players performed.
Swansea City
Lukasz Fabianksi – 7.5/10
The goalkeeper showed some indecision by not claiming a high ball which led to Diego Costa's opener. He did make up for it by denying Hazard with a great stop minutes later and a great save on Oscar’s long-range effort in the second half.
Saved a flurry of late efforts including a Diego Costa effort to get Swansea over the line and pick up a hard earned point.
Kyle Naughton – 5.5/10
Provided a decent option going forward and although he found it difficult to deal with Eden Hazard, he did as well as can be expected when faced with the diminutive Belgian. It wasn’t a terrible outing for the Englishman.
Federico Fernandez – 5/10
The Argentine was booked as well for a tackle on Costa. Fernandez found it difficult to handle the Chelsea striker all afternoon and was constantly on the backfoot. Regrouped well along with Amat to guide Swansea to a draw at least.
Jordi Amat – 5/10
Amat was booked for a late aerial challenge which left Costa on the ground for a few minutes. He kept getting into tussles with Costa and was probably a little lucky to not be sent off. Defended stoutly against late Chelsea pressure despite conceding an equaliser.
Stephen Kingsley – 6/10
The young Scot was moved to left-back from centre-back as Swansea switched to a back four late in the first half. He gave a decent account of himself throughout the game and has made a good claim to be the manager’s first choice left-back.
Neil Taylor – 5/10
After a subdued start to the game, the left wing-back was taken off late in the first half as his manager decided to make a tactical switch. Taylor was clearly unhappy with the decision and let his manager know it.
Sung-Yeung Ki – 5/10
A few decent moments and some tidy passing for the Swansea midfielder. He did well to break for Swansea and relieve the pressure after their two goals.
Jack Cork – 4.5/10
The game completely ran past Jack Cork as he was overrun by the Chelsea midfield and was overshadowed by Fer and Sigurdsson.
Leroy Fer – 7.5/10
Fer received the first booking of the game for a late challenge on Diego Costa when the Spaniard looked to set Chelsea off on a counter. He was able to play a great pass to set off Barrow which led to Swansea's penalty and followed it up by harrying Gary Cahill and scoring to send the Liberty Stadium into raptures.
Fer looked like a different player after this and was a constant thorn in Chelsea’s side by threatening on the counter attack.
Gylfi Sigurdsson – 7/10
Sigurdsson was Swansea’s brightest spark in the first half, driving his team forward whenever possible. He earned and converted a penalty to bring Swansea level around the hour mark and continued to impress.
Fernando Llorente – 4/10
An anonymous performance from Llorente was he was handled with ease by Terry and Cahill. He looks like a shadow of the player he was for Athletic Bilbao.
Substitutes
Modou Barrow – 7/10
Barrow was brought on just before half time to provide Swansea with greater incision going forward. He was able to do exactly that as he latched onto a long ball and led the counter-attack which got the Swans with a penalty. He was a real live-wire and fully justified his manager’s faith in him.
Angel Rangel – 5/10
Rangel came on in the final minute for Sigurdsson as Swansea looked to close out a draw and did his job.
Chelsea
Thibaut Courtois – 5/10
The Belgian was comfortable for the first hour of the game but gave away the penalty which led to the equaliser and was then beaten two minutes later by Leroy Fer. Didn’t have a whole lot to do other than and will be relieved that he only received a yellow card for conceding the penalty.
Branislav Ivanovic – 7/10
The Serbian looks like a reborn man as he put in yet another impressive display from right-back. Great going forward and solid as a rock at the back. It was his crosses that eventually led to both of Diego Costa’s goals.
Gary Cahill – 4/10
A nightmare moment for the English centre-back as he allowed Fer to get the ball off him and score to give Swansea the lead. He was quite solid other than that, but the fact of the matter is that he cost Chelsea 2 points. He must be fearing for his place following David Luiz’s return to Chelsea.
John Terry – 6.5/10
A commanding performance from the Chelsea captain, yet again. He must be quite annoyed to drop two points after being well in control of the game and Chelsea will need him to shore up the backline in the weeks to come. He was booked for a challenge on Fer and went down with what looked like an injury towards the end of the game.
Cesar Azpilicueta – 7/10
A solid performance from the Spanish left-back as he supported Hazard down the left while ensuring Swansea had no luck down the left flank. He had a shot which might well have doubled Chelsea's lead in the first-half if Fabianski had let his concentration slip.
N’Golo Kante – 7/10
Kante might just be the most shrewd signing of the summer as he lived up to his new moniker - 'The Rat - hustling and harrying the Swansea midfield and ensuring Chelsea always had him available for a pass. He is now an integral member of the Blues' midfield.
Nemanja Matic – 7/10
The big Serb absolute ran the midfield for the Blues with a commanding performance. Was always there to break up play and was extremely tidy in possession, keeping the Chelsea team ticking. He was brought off for Cesc Fabregas as Chelsea hunted for late goals.
Willian – 6/10
It was a performance filled with energy but not the final product from the Brazilian. He kept the Swansea team on their heels but wasn’t able to make the most of the numerous crossing opportunities and set-pieces that came his way. He was subbed off for Victor Moses towards the tail-end of the game.
Oscar – 6.5/10
He laid on the opener for Diego Costa but faded in the middle portions of the game. Started getting into the game again when Swansea went ahead and provided a good spark although he did waste a few good opportunities.
Eden Hazard – 6/10
The winger mesmerised with his dribbling but like Willian, he lacked a final product. He drew a great save from Fabianski in the first half and got past players time and time again, but really should’ve done better. He picked up a yellow card for the benefit of the team, stopping Barrow on a counter late on.
Diego Costa – 8/10
He is quite simply the hottest striker in the Premier League today. Diego Costa scored a peach of a goal in the first half when Chelsea were under pressure to put the Blues in control. He was booked yet again for a sliding challenge on Leroy Fer and missed a great opportunity to double Chelsea’s lead late in the first half.
Then came his moment of magic as he scored an overhead kick to equalise for Chelsea.
Substitutes
Fabregas – 5/10
Fabregas wasn’t able to find a killer pass like the last time Chelsea were chasing a game but he did add an attacking dimension after coming on for Matic.
Michy Batshuayi – 5/10
The youngster wasn't abe to replicate his super-sub heroics from the games against West Ham and Watford.
Victor Moses – 5/10
Moses looked bright after coming on for Willian, but like the Brazilian, he lacked a final product.
