Chelsea 3-1 Swansea: 5 Things We Learned as The Blues Consolidate their Lead Atop the Table

Chelsea defeated Swansea, inching closer to another Premier League title. Image: Getty Images

Chelsea widened their gap atop the table with another win, all but securing the Premier League title. Here are five things we learned from the encounter.

5. The Title Race is All But Over

Chelsea have all but clinched the trophy; they hold an eleven point lead over Manchester City, albeit with one more game played. Unless Chelsea make a series of blunders, there’s no doubt that Conte’s Chelsea will take home the title, rebounding from last year’s poor season. It didn’t take much time for Conte to revolutionize Chelsea, and The Blues have repeatedly shown that they are, without doubt, the best team in the Premier League.

Several new acquisitions such as N’Golo Kante and David Luiz have helped them on their blistering run, but at the end of the day, you have to thank Antonio Conte for the success that Chelsea have achieved this season, showing that he is one of the best, if not the best manager in the world.

4. Don’t Trust Fabianski

Fabianski made some great saves early on in the match as he was constantly pressured by Chelsea, but a huge gaffe on Pedro’s goal was the ultimate downfall for Swansea. On a seemingly simple save, Fabianski bottled it, letting the ball slip past his arms and into the goal. That goal would prove to be the winner as Chelsea added another one thanks to Diego Costa. Fabianski has conceded the most goals of any keeper in the Premier League, and while it is not entirely his fault, this one must hurt for the keeper, knowing that he is ultimately to blame for the loss.

3. Don’t Mess with Spain

It was quite a match for the Spanish players on the pitch. The Spanish trio of Fabregas, Pedro, and Diego Costa scored all three goals for the side, one each. The Spaniards have been influential in Chelsea’s run, and they are to thank for today’s win. In fact, a little under half of the team’s usual starting lineup are Spanish: Cesar Azpilicueta, Marcos Alonso, Cesc Fabregas, Pedro, and Diego Costa. The Spaniards have combined for just over half of Chelsea’s goals this season, scoring thirty out of fifty-five for The Blues.

Additionally, Llorente, another Spaniard, provided the only goal for the Swans, taking his tally up to nine for the season.

2. A Bit Lucky

While Chelsea certainly were the better team on the pitch, they were a bit fortunate to come out for the win. Cezar Azpilicuta’s hand was struck inside of the penalty area, but despite protests from the Swansea players, the referee did not award the visitors a penalty. Adding onto Swansea’s misfortune was Fabianski’s horrific gaffe.

The keeper made a huge mistake when he let a weak shot from Pedro get past him. The goal was crucial in Chelsea’s win over Swansea, and they’ll be thanking the stars they got that one. Nevertheless, Chelsea have played phenomenally this season, and the luck was just a byproduct of the pressure they consistently placed on the Swansea defense.

1. Swansea Dangerously Close to Relegation

Swansea will be kicking themselves over this one. They could have earned a crucial point towards staying in the division but a questionable call and a error from their keeper cost them all three points. Swansea now sit only three points away from the relegation zone, and if they aren’t careful, they could see themselves slip into those dreaded three places in the coming weeks.

Luckily for The Swans, they have a pretty easy run of games ahead of them where they will face Burnley, Hull City, Bournemouth, and Middlesbrough, teams that are ranked eleventh, nineteenth, fourteenth, and sixteenth respectively. Swansea will need to get some points from that easy stretch of games in order to make sure that they do not go down to the EFL Championship.

Chelsea XI: Courtois 6; Azpilicueta 5.5, Luiz 5, Cahill 6; Moses 5.5 (Zouma 85′, 5.5), Kante 6.5, Fabregas 7, Alonso 6; Pedro 6 (Matic 76′, 6), Costa 6.5, Hazard 7 (Willian 85′, 6.5)

Unused Subs: Begovic, Terry, Loftus-Cheek, Batshuayi

Swansea XI: Fabianski 4.5; Naughton 5.5, Fernandez 5.5, Mawson 6, Olsson 5; Fer 5, Cork 4.5, Carroll 4.5 (Ayew 76′, 5); Routledge 5 (Narsingh 81′, 5), Llorente 6.5, Sigurosson 6

Unused Subs: Nordfeldt, Amat, Rangel, Britton, Borja

Referee: Neil Swarbrick

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