Gylfi Sigurdsson was the hero oncemore for Swansea City, as he fired them up the table and surely to Premier League safety, as Guus Hiddink suffered the first defeat in his second spell at Chelsea.
Ice-cool Sigurdsson
In an action packed first half, it was Chelsea who unsurprisingly carried the greatest goal threat in the opening stages. A short corner was picked up by Oscar who weaved into space, before prodding an effort just over the crossbar. Yet the hosts gradually began to settle into the game and Gylfi Sigurdsson pounced on a nervy Matt Miazga's mistake, only to see his shot saved by Asmir Begovic.
However, the Iceland international Sigurdsson didn't not require a second chance to take advantage and he volleyed a crashing drive to give Swansea the lead midway through the half, as Chelsea failed to clear their lines from a Jefferson Montero cross. The game suddenly became littered with fouls and cautions, before Oscar squandered the bets opportunity of the half for the visitors. With the half-time whistle imminent, the Brazilian could not settle when through and goal and was tackled before Alexandre Pato fired the loose ball wide.
Swansea hold on
Chelsea did have the ball in the back of the net at the start of the second half, though Pato was rightly adjudged to have handled the ball as he took it down from a floated pass over the Swansea defence. It was a warning sign for the team from Wales and Chelsea almost equalised immediately after the disallowed goal. Spaniard Pedro found Pato oncemore, but the striker could only flick the ball wide from a few yards out. Swansea had been living dangerously and desperately needed to regain a foothold in the match. Eventually they did manage to cause a problem down the Chelsea end, as a mishit Jack Cork volley was clawed away from the top corner by Begovic.
Both sides made a raft of substitutions, but it was Swansea who went closest oncemore. Sigurdsson was causing an almighty threat and his looping cross beat Begovic, only for Montero to head over from five yards. The winger should have scored, but his miss did not matter as Chelsea could not take advantage of a late but of pressure, as Swansea held on for one of the surprise results of the weekend.
Swansea fans will be heading home wondering just what position they would be in if it was not for their Icelandic international continuously popping up with vital goals. The midfielder is invaluable to their squad and they will have to fight tooth and nail to keep hold of him in the summer.