Swansea City on Saturday were able to make history as they defeated Chelsea for the first time in the Premier League.

The Jacks most consistent man of the season Gylfi Sigurdsson scored the winning goal in the 26th minute of the match to sink the Blues 1-0 at the Liberty Stadium. This result might not have been the prettiest for Swansea, but their ability to not only survive but pick up three points speaks volumes of their current state of mind.

Here's what we learned as the Welsh outfit all-but ensured safety.

Swansea are not afraid anymore

The first thing that comes to mind is that the Swans are no longer intimidated by others. Chelsea dominated the possession of the ball by finishing with 61 percent. However, the Jacks stubborn and physical defence and midfield only allowed the Blues to create eight shots. Plus, the London based club's accuracy was off as only two of their shots were on target. Both of those opportunities ended with Swansea goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski making the save.

The reasoning behind Chelsea’s offense struggle was simple. Swansea never stopped working in the match. The Welsh club rolled up their sleeves and dished out 24 tackles and picked up 15 fouls. Plus five different Jacks received yellow cards.

Swansea challenged for every ball against Chelsea on Saturday at Liberty Stadium. Photo provided by Reuters.
Swansea challenged for every ball against Chelsea on Saturday at Liberty Stadium. (Photo: Reuters)

The Jacks' attack has life

However, the Swans were not only playing physical with the Blues; they also produced multiple goal scoring chances themselves. The Welsh club only controlled 39 percent of possession but they still managed to take 12 shots. Half of Swansea shots were on target; their effort forced the Blues goalie Asmir Begovic to make five saves.

The Jacks goal was not Begovic's fault but instead the fault of young American centre-back Matt Miazga. The 20-year-old defender had the opportunity to head the ball out the penalty box as a cross approached him from the right hand side.

However, Miazga failed to generate any power on his header. In result, the ball floated near the penalty spot and dropped perfectly for Sigurdsson. The Icelandic international wasted no time and fired a half volley shot into the bottom left hand corner of the net to give Swansea the 1-0 lead.

The Swans believe in Guidolin

The Swans went on to hold on to their 1-0 result and picked a crucial three points at home. Swansea’s manager Francesco Guidolin was pleased with the historical result but believed his club deserved more goals in the match.

"This is the first victory in the Premier League for Swansea against Chelsea and I am happy and proud,” Guidolin told the BBC after the 1-0 victory. “We played very well in the first half, we deserved to score other goals.”

It is clear that the Jacks believe in this coach and are fighting for him and for the rest of city. For the first time this season it appears that the Welsh club has what it takes to stay in the Premier League. 

Montero is alive and kicking 

Jefferson Montero was restored to the line-up for this game and was active, running at the defence with and without the ball. Montero’s constant movement forced the Blues to second guess their decisions and his work ethic and creativity resulted with him taking two shots and drawing two fouls. 

Furthermore, Sigurdsson's goal only occurred because of Montero’s relentless pressure. He was at the right hand side of the field near the corner flag and was surrounded by two defenders, who were bothering him physically and moving their feet to close any potential crosses. However, Montero kept going right and then left with the ball to keep the play alive.

His movement was able to create a quick gap to send a cross, so he sent a curling ball into the area. His crossed did get picked off by Miazga but Sigurdsson fired in the loose ball. Without Montero refusing to give up on the play, the game ends in a scoreless draw from the Swans.   

Jefferson Montero spent the majority of this season in the bench for Swansea until Francesco Guidolin showed up. Photo provided by Getty Images.
Jefferson Montero has spent the majority of this season in the bench for Swansea. (Photo: Getty)

So close to safety

The Swans with this result have 40 points and are now in 12th place in the Premier League. The Welsh club is in complete control of their own destiny when it comes to being relegated. There is now a 13 point gap between them and 18th place Sunderland.

After the Black Cats lost to Leicester City, Swansea only need one more victory to guarantee their place in the top flight next season. The Jacks' next match will be on Saturday at St. James' Park when they take on Newcastle United

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About the author
Jorge Belon
My name is Jorge Belon. I’m a writer for VAVEL USA and VAVEL UK. My focus is on soccer. Throughout the years I have created different blogs all revolving around soccer. My first was Mr. JB Soccer in 2012. Now I currently operate Belon Soccer News (BSN), where I cover soccer mostly from North America and international tournaments. I am a college at Los Angeles Valley College. I was a part of the college newspaper, The Valley Star for two years. At the Star I held the position of Sports Editor, News Editor, Managing Editor and Editor in Chief. I have been writing about soccer for the past three years. I have covered: Major League Soccer, Gold Cup, Under-20 Men’s World Cup, Women’s World Cup, Men’s World Cup and many more.