The Blues took the lead twice through Oscar and Willian, but were denied a win by André Ayew and a Bafetimbi Gomis penalty after Thibaut Courtois was sent off for bringing down the French striker just inside the box.

Garry Monk's side squandered several opportunities to snatch a shock win at Stamford Bridge, but substitute goalkeeper Asmir Begovic performed very well upon entering the game.

Sides held to intriguing draw at the Bridge

Oscar broke the deadlock on 23 minutes in peculiar fashion. The Brazilian whipped in a low, inswinging free-kick towards the back post, which evaded everybody and bounced into the bottom corner, leaving Lukasz Fabianski embarrassed. Despite Gary Cahill and Branislav Ivanovic's efforts to get a touch on the ball, it did not need one and the Blues' early pressure had paid off.

Just six minutes later however, the Swans were back level through debutant, André Ayew. After Bafetimbi Gomis had broken away, he squared to the Ghanaian, whose initial shot was saved excellently by Courtois, before Swansea's new signing scrambled home the rebound.

Ayew's tireless work is rewarded

It took only 90 seconds for the hosts to regain the lead and it was through Willian, whose attempted cross was deflected beyond the furious Fabianski, as José Mourinho's side restored their advantage on the half-hour mark.

A break in play followed just before half-time when Ki Sung-Yeung went down injured and Jack Cork, former Chelsea youth player, replaced the South Korean midfielder.

The second-half was action-packed, to say the least. Swansea showed early dominance after the interval, with Jonjo Shelvey hitting the post from a corner, while Gylfi Sigurdsson had a decent shot deflected behind for a corner-kick, as the visitors stepped up the pressure in their hunt for an equaliser. Their pressure paid off ten minutes into the second half, when Bafetimbi Gomis was played one-on-one with Courtois, after Jonjo Shelvey's excellent long pass. The Belgian goalkeeper was clumsy with his approach and stuck a leg out to trip the striker just inside the area and was promptly sent off by referee Michael Oliver; just the second red card of the young 'keeper's career.

Courtois arguably unlucky; Chelsea lacklustre defensively

Oscar made way for Asmir Begovic and the Bosnian debutant's first job was to pick the ball out of the net after Gomis sent him the wrong way to equalise from the spot. Begovic was soon called into action again, when another Shelvey corner looked destined to drop in at the far post, but Chelsea's summer signing got his fingertips to the spinning ball to tip it over.

The former Stoke City goalkeeper pulled off two more crucial saves to deny Jefferson Montero, before Willian had a rare chance up at the other end. The Blues received another major scare soon after, when Gomis had the ball in the net again from close range, but luckily for Mourinho's side, it was disallowed.

There was late controversy outside the Swansea box, when Ashley Williams appeared to shove Diego Costa in the back as the Spaniard was about to break away, but Michael Oliver was having none of it, waving away the Stamford Bridge's desperate cries for a free-kick, which only served to infuriate the home fans even more.

In the end, Chelsea will find themselves quite lucky to take a point from what was a poor defensive performance and a lacklustre attacking display, especially in the second half. The Blues now prepare to face last year's runners-up, Manchester City, at the Etihad Stadium in an extremely difficult fixture next weekend.

Chelsea (2) Swansea (2)
Courtois 5 Fabianski 6
Ivanovic 6 Naughton 6
Cahill 7 Fernandez 7
Terry 6 Williams 7
Azpilicueta 6 Taylor 6
​​ Matic 7 Shelvey 8
Fabregas 6 Ki 6
Willian 7 Ayew 7
Hazard 7 Sigurdsson 7
Oscar 8 Montero 7
Costa 6 Gomis 8
Substitutes:
Begovic 7 Cork 6
Zouma 6 Routledge 6
Falcao - Eder -
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About the author
Cian Woulfe
I am a keen enthusiast in both English and Dutch football, with Chelsea and Vitesse Arnhem the object of my desires. I also have a real soft spot for Rafael Nadal.