London: Chelsea sealed an impressive 4-1 victory against Premier League new-boys Swansea City despite Fernando Torres being sent off in the first half.
Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard were both on the bench for the home side with Drogba recovering from his dangerous clash with Norwich keeper John Ruddy last month. The Ivory Coast international believes he is 'lucky to be still alive' after the collision which kept him unconscious for eight minutes and perforated his eardrum.
Swansea, who haven't won at Chelsea since 1925, were comfortable in the opening stages, keeping a good shape and restricted Chelsea to long range efforts. On the 15th minute, Raul Meireles blasted a wild volley over the bar from outside the area and that is as good as it got in the opening twenty minutes for Chelsea.
However, the Blues looked like they could step it up a gear at any time and as the half went on, Fernando Torres became more involved in the game. He could have got a penalty when he went down after John Obi Mikel slid the ball through and Gary Monk came across him, but the referee was not impressed.
However, the man who has been tormented across the nation for his miss at Old Trafford last week, didn’t have to wait long until he was on the score-sheet. After great work from Juan Mata on the edge of the area, Torres received his dinked pass over the defence and was able to control superbly to finish into the far corner of the net on the half-hour mark.
Chelsea began to look more convincing in attack and the Swansea defence began to struggle with the constant pressure. It was only a matter of time when Chelsea doubled their lead five minutes later. Ashley Cole delivered an inviting low cross into the box and Ramires latched onto it to finish through Michel Vorm’s legs.
The home fans began to enjoy the match seeing their team stroke the ball around in their own half with the Welsh side preparing themselves for a long afternoon. However, the complexion of the game changed due to a moment of madness from Torres.
On the 40th minute, Mark Gower had the ball on the left side looking forward until Torres came sliding in with studs showing. Mike Riley gave the Spaniard a straight red for the challenge which could have easily resulted in a horrific injury for Gower.
Despite the man advantage, the away side struggled to implement any pressure in the last five minutes and as the sides went in for the break, Chelsea will still be confident of adding to their lead in the second half.
Brandon Rodgers brought on Wayne Routledge at the start of the second half hoping to provide some width and make the extra man tell. It had a positive effect with Swansea having several chances just after the break with Leon Britton pulling the strings in the midfield.
Ten minutes into the second half, Ashley Williams should have pulled one back for the Welsh side when he found himself in space in the area and headed a Angel Rangel cross towards goal, but Ramires cleared off the line.
The Swans were almost made to pay for their wastefulness when Nicholas Anelka collected the ball in space 25-yards out and unleashed a fierce drive which smashed the cross-bar with Vorm completely beaten.
Swansea continued to pressure the home side but in truth, the defence always looked comfortable and Chelsea looked threatening on the break. They sealed the game on the 77th minute, when Ramires controlled a Bosingwa cross and finished brilliantly for his second of the match.
Chelsea had ten men in midweek against Fulham in the League Cup after Alex was sent off but they eventually won on penalties, and once again it looks as though they would seal another ten men victory. Drogba came on for the impressive Anelka to arguably the loudest applause of the afternoon with the memory of last month’s head injury still fresh.
Swansea continued to push forward and they were rewarded for their efforts five minutes from time when Williams ghosted in at the back post and headed home a Gower cross amidst poor marking from Andre Villas Boas’ side.
However, Chelsea restored the three-goal lead when the returning Drogba finished well after good work from Malouda.
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