Chelsea F.C.: Five Positives from Swansea Match

On Saturday, Chelsea beat Swansea City 4-1 at Stamford Bridge. Just as in West London last Wednesday against Fulham (Carling Cup), there was a lot of excitement in this Premier League fixture. 

Chelsea dominated most of the game, despite being down a man more than half of the time. Fernando Torres made the headlines for scoring a goal and being red carded, all in ten minutes.

Ramires was at his best with two well earned goals and Didier Drogba returned after his sickening collision to score.

Andre Villas-Boas and Chelsea fans will be happy with not only the result but the performance. There were a lot of positives to take away from this match, despite a lot of negatives that could have prevented the Blues from winning this match.

Here's a list of five positives from Chelsea's performance against Swansea City:

1. Chelsea Kept Dominating After Red Card

Fernando Torres' red card certainly shocked everyone around Stamford Bridge. Chelsea were dominating the match and the Spanish striker looked lively. Then, Mike Dean sent Torres off after 40 minutes—the score at 2-0—and people began to wonder if Swansea could mount an extraordinary comeback.

Fortunately for the home side, the red card to Torres didn't seem to hurt Chelsea's dominance in the match. Apart from a worrying five to ten minutes at the start of the second half, the Blues really didn't have too much to be concerned about. 

The Swans probably should have been attacking more after the sending off. It looked like manager Brendan Rodgers had instructed his team to do so with some great opportunities after the half-time break. 

But, after the hour mark, Chelsea had few problems at the back and looked more likely to score than their opponents (which they did with Ramires and Drogba).

2. Despite Red Card, Torres Looked at His Best (or Almost)

Once again, Chelsea fans witnessed the good and the bad of Fernando Torres. Last Sunday, we saw a great goal and an incredible miss.

Against Swansea, Torres showed that he was more confident and was in form, with a goal and overall great play. That is, until the Spaniard made a rash and foolish slide tackle that earned him a red card.

But this slideshow doesn't discuss the negatives of the match, just the positives. Torres looked lively during his 40-minute period of play and deserved the goal. Very seldom did he lose possession, something that Chelsea fans have seen too often with the 27-year-old since his winter transfer to London. His goal also showed that he is inching closer to top form.

Torres played very well against Swansea, but fans won't be pleased that the striker is now banned for three domestic games. He will, however, be available for the Blues' Champions League encounter against Valencia this Wednesday.

3. Ramires Proved How Great He Is

Ramires didn't have the best of starts to his Chelsea career. The Brazilian was bought by Carlo Ancelotti in August 2010 but had trouble adapting to England's style of play.

Slowly things started to turn Ramires' way. He scored Chelsea's goal of the season against Manchester City in March (his second goal with the Blues after scoring against Bolton in January) and was becoming a regular starter with great defensive play. 

But Chelsea fans were still not expecting Ramires to play as well as he has in the start of the season. The 24-year-old has taken the Premier League by surprise with excellent attacking runs and vision. 

There's no doubt that Ramires will play a big part in Chelsea's season. His two goals against Swansea City show that he may turn out to be a reliable source for goals.

4. Mikel Was Outstanding Defensively

John Obi Mikel has been criticized during his Chelsea career for playing too defensive in the midfield.

With the arrival of Raul Meireles and the improved form of Ramires, many fans predicted that the Nigerian would find limited playing time this campaign.

It seems now that Andre Villas-Boas will have a hard time dropping Mikel on a weekly basis. In the Swansea match, the 24-year-old may not have helped on the attack but was great defensively. A bunch of impressive tackles and interceptions will certainly help him prove that he should start regularly.

I'm not sure if John Obi Mikel's performance against Swansea is enough to give him a starting spot, but it certainly helped.

5. Drogba Hasn't Finished with Chelsea

It was great for Chelsea fans to see Drogba return to first-team action after that nasty collision against Norwich in late August.

It was an even greater sight when the Ivorian scored 15 minutes after being subbed in to make the score 4-1 against Swansea.

Didier Drogba's injury last month frightened not just Chelsea fans but the whole world. Now he is back and wants to prove that he is good enough to start regularly. His clinical finish in the 94th minute on Saturday will definitely bring him up in the pecking order.

As the season progresses, we'll learn more about Andre Villas-Boas' preferred striking trio (or duo). One thing that is clear is that Drogba is still a valuable player for Chelsea.