toptop
Diego
Costa and Oscar scored twice each as a first-half onslaught from Chelsea
overwhelmed Swansea 5-0 at the Liberty Stadium.
The Chelsea forwards both bagged a brace before the break and Andre Schurrle
added afifth in the closing stages as Jose Mourinho’s men extended their Premier
League lead to five points, with second-placed Manchester City facing Arsenal on
Sunday.
It took 50 seconds for the away side to assert their authority, as Oscar picked
up Gylfi Sigurdsson’s sloppy pass before driving goalwards and shooting into the
bottom corner from 25 yards.
Within moments the hosts could have been level when Sigurdsson almost made up
for his previous error in spectacular fashion, but his 30-yard strike clattered
against the angle of bar and post.
That was Swansea’s best moment of the afternoon as Chelsea turned up the volume
– Oscar shot at Lukasz Fabianski and Willian wasted the rebound in the 13th
minute but their profligacy wouldn’t last.
After 20 minutes, a marauding passing move through the centre ended with Cesc
Fabregas notching his 15th Premier League assist this season when Costa hammered
home the second.
Just minutes prior, Oscar and Eden Hazard had narrowly missed as Swansea failed
to deal with Chelsea’s quick-fire passing and movement.
Different gears
The Blues appeared to step up into different gears at the sight of their
vulnerable opponents and Willian thundered a shot against the post with
Swansea’s defence again bypassed.
Swansea’s unrelenting philosophy of passing from the back haunted them again for
Chelsea’s third – Federico Fernandez’s lazy back-pass gifted Costa a one-on-one
opportunity and he netted his 17th of the league season.
Just 76 seconds later, Chelsea robbed the ball back and Oscar delivered a
curling shot from the edge of the box past Fabianski for the fourth goal.
Costa still found time to miss a gilt-edged chance for a first-half hat-trick
when he dribbled around the goalkeeper but found himself too wide to score. He
teed up Willian, who hit the bar.
Perhaps with an eye on Tuesday’s Capital One Cup semi-final against Liverpool,
Chelsea softened their frenetic approach in the second period while maintaining
a steely control of proceedings.
Costa was denied a hat-trick as Mourinho withdrew him after 70 minutes but it
was a substitute that added the fifth.
After Eden Hazard and Branislav Ivanovic’s work on the right, Schurrle scored
from point-blank range two minutes after his introduction.
Player ratings
Chelsea: Cech (6), Ivanovic (7), Cahill (6), Terry (7), Luis
(7), Matic (7), Fabregas (9), Willian (8), Oscar (9), Hazard (8), Costa (8).
Used subs: Ramires (6), Remy (6), Schurrle (7).
Swansea: Fabianski (7), Tiendalli (5), Fernandez (4), Williams
(6), Taylor (5), Sigurdsson (4), Carroll (3), Dyer (5), Oliveira (3), Routledge
(4), Gomis (3).
Usedsubs: Emnes (6), Barrow (5), Fulton (5).
Man of the match: Oscar
Teams
Swansea City Fabianski, Tiendalli, Fernandez, Williams (c),
Taylor, Sigurdsson, Carroll, Dyer (Barrow 74), Oliveira (Fulton 65), Routledge
(Emnes 31), Gomis
Subs Not Used Amat, Rangel, Tremmel, Bartley
Booked
Goals
Chelsea Cech, Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry (c), Luis, Fabregas
(Ramires 73), Matic, Willian (Schurrle 75) , Oscar, Hazard, Costa (Remy 74)
Subs Not Used Courtois, Zouma, Mikel, Salah
Booked
Goals Oscar 1, 36, Costa 20, 34, Schurrle 79
Attendance 20,785
Referee Jon Moss