Swansea 1-0

Independent:

Chelsea 1 Swansea City 0
Familiar frustrations for Blues but Eden Hazard ensures they remain in the hunt
Chelsea's strikers once again failed to produce in front of goal but Hazard ensured they took maximum points in low-scoring affair

By SAM WALLACE

It was a lot more anxious than it should have been for Jose Mourinho, watching his side defeat a Swansea City team who, all things considered, should have been disposed off long before Chelsea went into an anxious four minutes of injury-time pressure at the end.
“They kill me,” Mourinho said of his own players. “Every game. I’m tired”. He also lavished praise on his team but the problem is the same: Chelsea are incapable of killing off games because they do not have a goalscorer to complete the job. Today it was Samuel Eto’o who spent the afternoon affecting disbelief after a series of missed chances, but it might just have been Fernando Torres or the lesser-spotted Demba Ba.
Between them, the three strikers have scored just five league goals in a collective 17 starts – Mourinho picked none of them for the trip to Old Trafford in August. Eto’o scored none of the three chances that were created for him against Swansea and it is impossible not to consider where this Chelsea side might be with a striker who had even got into double-figures by now.
Instead, the goals must come from elsewhere, on this occasion from Eden Hazard who scored on 30 minutes in a period of pressure for the home side that should have yielded more. Mourinho complained that the Belgian winger should also have had a penalty after a challenge by Jordi Amat in the second half although there was little fuss from his players at the time.
The criticism from Mourinho was that Hazard was swept off his feet by a “scissor” action from Amat that took the player’s legs away from under him while also making contact with the ball. “Big scissors in the box,” he said. “Hazard touched the ball, the full-back doesn't. A big penalty. It's the kind of managers will cry about for two hours. I just say it was a big penalty.”
As for Eto’o, the tale of woe was extensive. The Swansea goalkeeper Gerhard Tremmel, at fault for Hazard’s goal, did well to save when Juan Mata’s ball over the top put the Chelsea striker free. Then, in the first minute of the second half, Eto’o was six yards out when he met Mata’s cross but had his shot saved by Tremmel again. The striker dragged another wide five minutes later when Hazard found him in space.
Fortunately for Chelsea, they can rely upon a defence that, changed again in terms of personnel, showed no signs of buckling. Ashley Cole was back in the side in the league for the first time since 2 November. David Luiz replaced Gary Cahill and those two were resolute, especially as the team fell back in the closing stages.
“Time goes on, we don’t score a second goal, and the opponent believes and risks a bit more,” Mourinho said. “They put on a second striker, and you are in a bit of trouble. You don't score, you finish feeling you are going to concede. But the boys worked hard and had control of the game. A deserved victory. An important victory.”
For Michael Laudrup, the result only increases the significance of the Aston Villa game on Saturday. Swansea have ten points from their last ten games and, in 11th place, are still just four points off the relegation zone. “To take the positive things today into the next game, we'll need a positive result up there,” Laudrup said. “Otherwise you don't use that positivity from this game.”
It was a slow start from Cole who had not directed play forward enough for Mourinho’s liking in the early stages and the Chelsea manager had gone through his usual repertoire of dismissive hand gestures followed by behind-the-hand muttering to his bench.
The goal for Hazard, however, sprung from a perceptive interception from Cole and a quick ball up the line to the Belgian who cut inside on his right foot to shoot. His strike was firm but should never have been enough to beat Tremmel who was partially unsighted by a defender crossing his path.
Two minutes later, Petr Cech did well to save from Alvaro Vazquez, who played alone in attack for Laudrup’s side. “We didn't miss,” Mourinho said, reflecting later on the game, “the goalkeeper made fantastic saves.” He went on to offer up another excuse for Eto’o but he must see what everyone else does, that this is a team in need of a goalscorer.

Line-ups:

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech; Ivanovic, Luiz, Terry, Cole; Ramires, Mikel; Mata (Schurrle, 72), Oscar (Lampard, 67), Hazard (Willian, 82); Eto’o.
Substitutes not used: Schwarzer (gk), Torres, Cahill, Azpilicueta.

Swansea (4-2-3-1): Tremmel; Rangel, Amat, Williams, Taylor; Canas (De Guzman, 61), Britton; Pozuelo, Shelvey, Routledge (Bony, 76); Vazquez.
Substitutes not used: Zabret (gk), Flores, Hernandez, Tiendalli, Davies.
Referee: M Jones

Man of the match: Hazard (Chelsea)
Match rating: 5
Booked: Ramires (Chelsea)

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Guardian:
Chelsea lack cutting edge but Eden Hazard earns win against Swansea City
Dominic Fifield

Once the adrenaline was spent and the anxiety had given way to exhaustion, José Mourinho's sense of humour clicked in. "They kill me, they kill me," he offered through a smile. "Every game I'm left tired." Managing Chelsea might already carry a health warning, for all the hefty compensation pay-offs flung the way of the departed. Yet, even in victory, there is anxiety to endure when directing the current crop.
Mourinho has been animated on the touchline plenty of times since returning to the Premier League in the summer. He has been ordered from his technical area for constantly overreacting and once even charged across in front of the visitors' dugout and climbed into the East Stand to celebrate a goal with his son, José Jnr. Yet, while overseeing narrow success over a blunt Swansea team, the Portuguese's demeanour betrayed anxiety more than ever. This was pure pantomime. It was no wonder he looked drained.
There were constant bellowed instructions to his players whenever their guard slipped, the manager pacing his technical area and regularly resorting to scream in disbelief at his backroom staff whenever an opportunity, whether a clear-cut or half-chance, was passed up by his players. Steve Holland cowered, sinking further into his tracksuit, while Rui Faria pretended to ignore the histrionics, presumably having seen them all before. At one point Mourinho even started sinking to his calves, as if mimicking André Villas-Boas in that same chalked off area, when another line was fluffed out on the pitch.
Profligacy infects this team and dents their effectiveness. This should have been a stroll against a side whose best opportunity fell to Álvaro Vázquez just after the half-hour mark and was turned away by Petr Cech. "At half-time we all should be relaxed with a comfortable result and we weren't," said Mourinho.
"The first thing that happens in the second half was probably the biggest chance of the game and, after that, we had a clear penalty. If you add all these things up, we should have been comfortable and I could have been relaxed in the technical area and on the bench. But time goes on, we don't score a second goal and the opponents risk a bit more.
"The longer you don't score, the more you feel you are going to concede. At least today I can say the biggest responsibility for the lack of goals was their goalkeeper because he made three or four big saves. He played very well. We didn't miss chances. He saved them." Even so, this all felt familiar. Samuel Eto'o was denied three times, the opportunity 13 seconds after the break from Juan Mata's delicious delivery rather summing up the contest's trajectory. A yard either side of Gerhard Tremmel and the net would have bulged. As it is, Eto'o's volley from point-blank range struck the goalkeeper on the line and Swansea survived.
Those concerns over the strikers will persist, presumably, until the summer when the forward ranks are rejigged. Eto'o, Fernando Torres and Demba Ba boast five Premier League goals from a combined 17 starts this season, although criticising them is becoming a cliché. Chelsea could at least draw encouragement from Eden Hazard's winner, the team's leading scorer fed by Ashley Cole's pass to dart inside Jordi Amat and skim a shot goalwards, which Tremmel might have saved had Ashley Williams not dived across his eye-line.
Hazard was the subject of Mourinho's penalty appeal, too, as Amat dived in to claim the ball but then take the forward's back leg. "Big scissors in the box," said the Portuguese. "The kind of decision other managers cry about for two hours."
In truth, few home players had appeared aggrieved to see the calls waved away, even if it would have lanced the tension. When Swansea did threaten on the counterattack, Ramires scythed down the substitute Wilfried Bony on the halfway line and was booked. "It wasn't a silly action," added Mourinho but it did earn the Brazilian a fifth caution and a suspension for Sunday's visit of Liverpool.
Swansea cursed such cynicism though, appearing to be a side resigned to their own shortcomings. Michael Laudrup's team retain that class in possession but, stripped of the injured Michu, they can be toothless. This loss left them with two wins in 14 matches in all competitions, the Europa League having stretched their resources and disrupted their lineup.
trip to Aston Villa suddenly appears critical, particularly with a collision with Manchester City to come. "We have to take positives from this into the game at Villa," said Laudrup. "But this was what we expected. Teams like that have quality players who eventually make the difference: Oscar, Hazard, Mata, top, top international quality level. There's a reason these players play in certain teams rather than others."
It is upon those players whom Mourinho is leaning, both to create and convert. He had moved to shake Laudrup's hand well before added time had ticked down here, as if desperate for this all to be over. Even in victory, this did not feel enjoyable.

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Telegraph:
Chelsea 1 Swansea City 0
Jeremy Wilson

Jose Mourinho has been repeatedly telling his team that they need to become “killers” but this was another frustrating example of their propensity to rely on a glancing blow rather than bludgeon such obviously inferior opposition into submission.
The positive was a win that keepsChelsea within sight of thePremier League summit yet Mourinho’s touchline theatrics in added time were vivid illustration of his frustration at the result having still been in doubt.
“They kill me every game,” said Mourinho. “Every game I’m tired.”
Chelsea did have the opportunities to put this match beyond Swansea City within 45 minutes but, ultimately, had to contend with an unnecessarily nervous finale in which two points could conceivably have been dropped. Samuel Eto’o was again most profligate, although the problem clearly runs deeper and Chelsea’s three strikers are now heading towards 2014 with only five Premier League goals between them.
“If the strikers score 10 in the second half of the season, we’ll have more chances,” said Mourinho. “At half-time, we all should be relaxed with a comfortable result and we weren’t. Time goes on, we don’t score a second goal, and the opponent believes, risks a bit more, puts on a second striker, and you are a bit in trouble. You finish feeling you are going to concede.”
Although this has become a familiar analysis of recent Chelsea matches, Mourinho attributed Thursday’s struggle to the performance of Swansea goalkeeper Gerhard Tremmel.
“I can say the biggest responsible for the lack of goals was their goalkeeper because he made three or four big saves,” he said. “My strikers always give something to the team. Every one of them who plays gives something. No winning goals? OK.”
Having labelled Arsenal “boring” on Monday for their failure to create clear chances in a home match, Mourinho could hardly have continued the restraining tactics he had so effectively employed at the Emirates.
The 4-3-3 system was duly ditched in favour of a more expansive 4-2-3-1 formation that allowed Eden Hazard, Oscar and Juan Mata to interchange in behind Eto’o. With Ramires and John Obi Mikel forming the midfield base, Chelsea were soon in full control and creating chances almost at will.
Hazard’s clever pass had provoked a slip from Ashley Williams but Oscar miscontrolled when the goal would have been at his mercy.
Eto’o’s reverse pass then did put Hazard clear but he dragged his shot back across both Tremmel and the outside of the post. With Chelsea’s attacking players so unreliable in front of goal, John Terry remained one of his team’s biggest threats from set pieces and, in the space of five minutes, forced a save from Tremmel and then a goal-line clearance by Ashley Williams.
When Chelsea did finally score the goal that their dominance had merited, it owed as much to errors in the Swansea defence as their own precise finishing. Hazard had taken advantage of a moment’s hesitation by Jordi Amat to find space infield and his low shot squirmed under Tremmel after Williams’s botched attempt at a headed clearance had restricted his goalkeeper’s view.
It was slightly fortuitous but, for his work rate alone, no Chelsea player had more deserved a slice of luck than Hazard. Mourinho is especially happy with the Belgium winger’s response to being dropped against Schalke last month as punishment for losing his passport and missing a training session.
“He never missed one after that,” said Mourinho. “He gave everything, so I’m happy. His last action in the game was defending our box.”
Before that, Eto’o had missed wonderful chances to put the game beyond Swansea either side of half-time. First Mata split the defence only for Tremmel to save from Eto’o low to his left and then, 15 seconds into the second half, he had a volley blocked by the Swansea goalkeeper after David Luiz and Mata had combined brilliantly.
Michael Laudrup’s Swansea team selection suggested that he had one eye on Saturday’s match against Aston Villa and, beyond a half chance that Álvaro Vázquez volleyed over and then a penalty claim for a possible Mikel elbow, their threat was almost non-existent.
Mourinho eventually turned to a familiar source in Frank Lampard to add some comfort to the scoreline but he was also denied by Tremmel, while Chelsea felt aggrieved over Amat’s two-footed tackle on Hazard.
“Big scissors in the box,” claimed Mourinho. “A big penalty – it’s the kind managers will cry about for two hours.”
Perhaps but Mourinho’s wider concern, quite rightly, is with his strikers.

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Mail:
Chelsea 1 Swansea 0: Hazard spares blushes of wasteful Blues
By Matt Barlow

There were tidings of joy for Jose Mourinho but little comfort as Chelsea continued to accrue points without flair and without much help from their strikers.
Eden Hazard scored the only goal against Swansea at Stamford Bridge as Samuel Eto’o replaced Fernando Torres at centre forward with similar results.
‘They kill me,’ said Mourinho. ‘Every game I am tired. At half-time we should be relaxed with a comfortable result and we weren’t.’
Eto’o missed three glorious chances in an eight-minute spell either side of half-time. The first when he was played clean through by Juan Mata.
Gerhard Tremmel sprang to his left and pushed it away and then denied the Cameroon striker 12 seconds into the second half. Mata again was the creator, with a ball from the right for Eto’o to meet six yards out on the  volley, with the inside of his left foot.
It was on target but too close to Tremmel, who saved. Mourinho hailed the Swansea goalkeeper but Eto’o completed his trio of chances by firing wide from just outside the penalty area, in the 50th minute.
‘The biggest (factor) responsible for the lack of goals was their goalkeeper,’ Mourinho said. ‘We didn’t miss, he made fantastic saves.’ The Chelsea manager also grumbled that referee Mike Jones should have awarded a penalty when Hazard was challenged by Jordi Amat, early in the second half.
Hazard was in full flow when Amat dived in from the side, taking the ball with his right boot while wiping out the Belgian’s legs from behind with a swing of his left foot.
‘Clear penalty,’ said Mourinho. ‘Big scissors in the box. It’s the kind of thing some managers will cry about for hours. I just say it was a penalty.’
Hazard made the difference. It was not only the goal. He was a ball of energy on the Chelsea left until he was replaced by Willian in the 82nd minute and really seems to have responded since he was dropped after missing a training session at the start of November.
‘He never missed a training session after that,’ smiled Mourinho. ‘He gave everything and so I’m happy. His last action in the game was defending our box to stop the progress of their left back. The kid was exhausted. He plays a high-intensity game and I needed a fresh player.’
The goal came in the 29th minute. Collecting the ball on the left, Hazard jinked inside, drifted past Amat and went for goal with his right foot from outside the penalty box. Tremmel did make splendid saves from Eto’o and later from substitute Frank Lampard but he loses credit on the goal. It was not  a complete howler but it was close enough to save and he dived over the ball.
Chelsea were again found wanting in front of goal against Swansea - check out our brilliant Match Zone service here
For Hazard, it was a seventh goal in 18 league appearances, which is two more than the three Chelsea strikers — Eto’o, Torres and Demba Ba — have between them in the league.
Since being left out for a Champions League game against Schalke after missing a train back from Lille — and training —  the £32million winger has scored a last-minute equaliser from the spot against West Bromwich, two in a 4-3 win at Sunderland and this goal against Swansea.
Mourinho was in no mood to criticise his strikers, preferring to point out that Chelsea’s title challenge will be boosted if they score 10 instead of five in the second half of the season.
‘They always give something to the team,’ he said. ‘Every one of them who plays gives something. No winning goals, OK. But they give.’
Chelsea are well in touch with the top ahead of Liverpool’s visit to  Stamford Bridge on Sunday, but will be without Ramires, who picked up his fifth yellow card when he halted a quick Swansea break with a midfield foul on Wilfried Bony.
They summoned a frantic finish to stress Mourinho out but attacking threats were all too rare from low-key Swansea, who have taken only 10 points from their last 10 games.
Alvaro Vazquez had the  clearest chance for the visitors, soon after Hazard had struck, but fired a half-volley straight at Petr Cech, who turned it over the bar.
‘It’s never good to lose but the fact we were in there until the last second is a positive,’ said Swansea manager Michael Laudrup.

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Mirror:
Chelsea 1-0 Swansea City: Dominant Blues stay in title hunt after Eden Hazard nets winner
Martin Lipton

Jose Mourinho watched his side labour to victory again yesterday, and admitted: “They’re killing me.”
Eden Hazard’s first-half strike proved the difference as Samuel Eto’o wasted three great chances either side of the break.
It made for an anxious finale as Swansea finally turned up, and while Mourinho absolved the Cameroon star of blame, he conceded Chelsea are becoming their own worst enemies. “This team doesn’t let me relax, no,”said the Blues boss.
“They kill me. Every game. They kill me. Every game, I’m tired at the end. I should have been relaxed in the technical area and on the bench.
“But time goes on, we don’t score a second goal, the opponent believes and risks a bit more and you are a bit in trouble. You finish feeling you are going to concede.”
Mourinho, insistent that Hazard should have been awarded a penalty from Jordi Amat’s scything challenge, has become used to frustrations in front of goal.
Between them, Eto’o, Fernando Torres and Demba Ba have scored just five league goals this season.
This time, Eto’o was the guilty party. Played in by Juan Mata before the break, he allowed Gerhard Tremmel to save to his left.
The German keeper was culpable for Hazard’s goal, as the midfielder threaded a shot between him and Ashley Williams.
At the start of the second half he should have been beaten again, but Eto’o hit him from six yards.
Belgium star Hazard has now scored seven on his own but Mourinho, who was also forced to witness Williams clear off the line when John Obi Mikel seemed to have a tap-in, insisted: “This time it is different.
“The biggest responsibility for the lack of goals was their goalkeeper because he made three or four big saves. He played very well. It wasn’t misses but saves.”
Victory, making it seven points from nine since the shock defeat at Stoke, came at a price with Ramires ruled out of Sunday’s clash with ­Liverpool after picking up his fifth booking of the campaign.
Mourinho, who gave Ashley Cole his first league start since November 2, had no complaints at the Brazilian’s foul on Wilfried Bony, deeming it a necessary act of sacrifice.
“He had to stop the game,” said Mourinho. “If he doesn’t there’s a risk of a dangerous counter-attack. I don’t complain. It wasn’t a silly action. I don’t want to cry. That’s life.”
Swans boss Michael Laudrup was equally phlegmatic. The Welsh side have now picked up 10 points out of 30 and their lone strike on target by Alvaro Vazquez was easily repelled.
“When you play against teams like this you know you have to suffer a bit because of the quality of their players,” said the Dane.
“The fact we were in there until the last second is a positive going into the game at Aston Villa. We need to take that positive into the next few games.”

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Express:
Chelsea 1 - Swansea 0: Eden Hazard stars as Jose Mourinho feels the strain
Tony Banks

This may be the season of goodwill to all men, but Mourinho’s players seem intent on putting their manager through the emotional wringer.
Not for Mourinho a seasonal glass of brandy and a cigar as his expensive, talented team sweep all before them. Instead the Portuguese is condemned to a nervous pacing of the technical area, brow creased , as his team squander chance after chance to finish off other sides.
Chelsea, as they usually do these days in home games, clung on for a win thanks to Eden Hazard’s 29th-minute goal.
But had striker Samuel Eto’o taken any of three good chances this was a contest that would have been over by half-time.
As it was, Swansea gained strength in only being one goal down and caused Chelsea many anxious moments in the second half.
Mourinho said: “This team don’t let you relax. They kill me. Every game I’m tired.
“At half-time, we all should have been relaxed with a comfortable result. But we weren’t.
“The first thing that happens in the second half was probably the biggest chance of the game. And after that we had a clear, big penalty. If you add up all these things, we go home with a comfortable result and I can be relaxed in the technical area and on the bench.
“But time goes on, we don’t score a second goal, the opponent risks a bit more and you are in trouble. So you finish feeling you are going to concede.”
But Mourinho added: “The boys worked hard and had control of the game. It was a deserved victory and important. The person most responsible for the lack of goals was their goalkeeper.
“Eden gave everything, so I’m happy. His last action in the game was defending in our box. The kid was exhausted.”

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Star:

Chelsea 1 - Swansea 0: Jumpy Jose Mourinho's health Hazard with team star Eden
David Woods

The Portuguese coach was going bonkers as his title-chasing team failed to capitalise on Eden Hazard's 29th-minute goal.
Samuel Eto'o wasted three chances, two of them great ones, leaving Mourinho in despair.
On one occasion, he turned to his bench with both hands in the air and a look of exasperation on his face.
Hazard, with seven league goals, has two more than Eto'o, Fernando Torres and Demba Ba combined.
Praise Mourinho admitted he can never relax watching his men this season.
"No, they kill me," he said.
"Every game I'm tired.
"At half-time, we all should be relaxed with a comfortable result. And we weren't.
Mourinho was full of praise for Swansea's German keeper Gerhard Tremmel.
"Today, I can say the biggest responsibility for the lack of goals was their goalkeeper, because he made three or four big saves," he added.
But Tremmel, 35, also played his part in the Blues winner. Ashley Cole sent Hazard scurrying down the left and he skipped clear of Jordi Amat. Cutting into the box, he fired in a low right-foot shot which Tremmel dived over.
He was almost certainly put off by the dive of Ashley Williams, who looked like he might head clear, but failed to make contact.