Chelsea vs. Swansea: Winners and Losers from Premier League Game
Chelsea are alone atop the Premier League table following Saturday’s entertaining 4-2 win over Swansea at Stamford Bridge.
Both sides came into the encounter without a single dropped point from their first three matches of the 2014-15 season, and after just 11 minutes it was Swansea taking the lead thanks to a John Terry own goal.
From there it was the Diego Costa show.
The Spain international restored level terms on the stroke of half-time, and then completed his hat-trick with a pair of goals in the second half.
Chelsea debutant Loic Remy gave the hosts a 4-1 lead with nine minutes remaining, but against the run of play Jonjo Shelvey nicked a late consolation marker for the guests.
Following are some of the winners and losers from the match.
Winner: Diego Costa, Who Bagged a Hat Trick
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Diego Costa became the first ever Premier League player to score seven goals in his first four matches in the English top flight when he bagged an impressive hat-trick against Swansea on Saturday.
Predictably, Cesc Fabregas assisted on two of his Spain teammate’s tallies, and all three of the former Atletico Madrid striker’s goals came just a matter of paces from the goal-line.
Costa also completed 85 percent of his passes before being withdrawn in the 72nd minute (statistics courtesy WhoScored.com) to a standing ovation.
Loser: John Terry, Who Accidentally Opened the Scoring
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John Terry will have wanted to get on the scoresheet against Swansea, but not in the manner in which it ended up happening.
In the 11th minute, the Chelsea captain desperately attempted to clear Neil Taylor’s searching cross from the right, only to direct the ball past goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and into the back of his own net.
Thankfully for the 33-year-old, who only misplaced a single pass on Saturday, his attacking teammates were in rude form and had the Blues back on level terms by the restart.
Winner: Eden Hazard, Who Enjoyed His Best Match of the Season so Far
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Despite Chelsea’s excellent start to the season, Eden Hazard didn’t really impress through the Premier League leaders’ first three matches.
On Saturday, however, the Belgium playmaker was back to his best, setting up teammates with exquisite passes and making brave, heads-up runs into the goalmouth.
The one-two he played with Cesc Fabregas in the build-up to Diego Costa’s second goal was especially eye-catching.
Winner: Cesc Fabregas, Who Has Developed a Keen Understanding with Diego Costa
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Steven Gerrard led the Premier League with 13 assists last season. Cesc Fabregas already has seven through four matches this term.
Much of the Spain midfielder’s success has been down to an understanding quickly forged with fellow summer arrival Diego Costa, who has been lethal in front of goal to start his Chelsea career.
On Saturday, Fabregas set up Costa’s first two goals and also completed 94 percent of his passes over the 90 minutes.
Loser: Bafetimbi Gomis, Who Should Have Pulled One Back for Swansea
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Bafetimbi Gomis has the reputation of a hit-and-miss striker, and unfortunately for Swansea it was the latter the Frenchman displayed on Saturday.
Midway through the second half, with the Welsh outfit trailing 3-1, Gomis found himself on a clear break but scuffed his effort without being under meaningful pressure from an opponent.
Swansea ended up pulling a goal back late on through Jonjo Shelvey, but the match could have taken a rather different route had Gomis made it 3-2.
Winner: Jose Mourinho, Whose Half-Time Substitution Changed Everything
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Chelsea may have gone back down the tunnel on level terms at the break, but they were generally outplayed and decidedly out-possessed by a confident Swansea side in the first half.
Acknowledging a need to change things up, Blues manager Jose Mourinho withdrew World Cup-winner Andre Schurrle before the restart and inserted Ramires in his place.
The extra body in the centre of the park did wonders for Chelsea’s ball control, and Ramires even ended up with an assist on Diego Costa’s third goal of the afternoon.
