Swansea City 2-2

Independent:

Diego Costa double not enough to maintain Antonio Conte's perfect Premier League start
Swansea 2-2 Chelsea: Sigurdsson and Fer scored two quick goals to give the Swans the lead
Rob Stewart at the Liberty Stadium

Diego Costa showed why they love to hate him in Swansea as Chelsea surrendered their 100 per cent Premier League record in a humdinger of a contest at the Liberty Stadium.

The Chelsea striker, who has been likened to a spaghetti western villain since he arrived in England, played the role of baddie to perfection after his defensive colleagues slipped up, costing their club a chance to join Manchester City at the summit of the Premier League.

The former Atletico Madrid striker, jeered throughout by Swansea fans, showed his enduring worth to Chelsea whose perfect start to life under Antonio Conte came to an end following calamitous errors of judgment by Thibault Courtois and Gary Cahill.

Costa came to the rescue with a brilliant overhead kick late on after the sort of defensive lapses by Courtois and Cahill which are anathema to Conte who prides himself on his defensive work as a manager with Juventus and Italy.

Indeed, it was the sort of mistake for Swansea’s second goal by Cahill which would normally be associated with David Luiz who had to be content with a place on the bench as his second stint at Chelsea began in earnest following his £32-million move from Paris St Germain.
His fellow deadline day signing Marcos Alonso was sat alongside the Brazilian as Conte opted to keep faith with the team that beat Burnley so convincingly at Stamford Bridge.

His charges were clearly aiming to start off where they finished in that 3-0 defeat and Willian tested Lukasz Fabianski with a powerful rising shot that the goalkeeper punched away early on.
Swansea were afforded plenty of time and space to show off their passing game but lacked punch as striker Fernando Llorente struggled to work his way into the contest.

Costa showed the Welsh side how it should be done when he put Chelsea ahead in the 18th minute.
Federico Fernandez’s weak attempt at a headed clearance following Branislav Ivanovic’s cross fell to Oscar who teed up Costa who slotted the ball past Fabianski from the edge of the penalty area.

It was his sixth goal in Chelsea colours against Swansea whose defence have proved more generous to the striker than any other Premier League club.
Swansea went to pieces and Eden Hazard should have doubled the lead two minutes later when he burst through but shot straight at Fabianski.

The former Arsenal goalkeeper came to his side’s rescue again as Chelsea dominated, pulling off another smart save to deny Cesar Azpilicueta after the left-back tried his luck from the by-line.
The game was increasingly one-sided but Gylfi Sigurdsson had the locals jumping out of their Liberty Stadium seats when he sent a curling 22-yard shot flashing just wide of Courtois’s goal.

Back came Chelsea and Costa should have doubled the lead following Willian’s corner but miscued badly from close range – as did John Terry - much to the delight of those who cast him as a pantomime villain.

Such was their dominance that Chelsea looked well equipped to be able to overcome such wasteful finishing - until Courtois and then Cahill hit the proverbial self-destruct button.
First it was Courtois who suffered a rush of blood when he darted out to clear substitute Modou Barrow’s through-ball to Sigurdsson only to misjudge badly and bring down the Icelandic international just inside the penalty box.

Referee Andre Marriner ignored the fans who were calling for Courtois to be sent off but Sigurdsson showed no mercy at all from the penalty box as he drove the ball down to middle of the goal, beyond the Belgian’s dive in the 59th minute.

Things quickly went from bad to worse for Chelsea as three minutes later Cahill was caught in possession by Fer as he dithered over a back pass to Courtois and the tenacious midfielder raced through before squeezing the ball beneath the goalkeeper.
It left Conte scratching his head in disbelief.

Costa, the subject of harsh treatment by Swansea fans and players, then took centre-stage with his overhead kick from six yards out in the 81st minute to spare his colleagues’ blushes and only a fine save by Fabianski denied him a winner.

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Guardian :

Swansea 2 - 2 Chelsea
Diego Costa grabs a point for Chelsea after Swansea’s rapid turnaround
Dominic Fifield at the Liberty Stadium

Antonio Conte offered his compatriot and opposite number, Francesco Guidolin, a respectful pat on the arm at the final whistle but it was the scowl on the Chelsea manager’s face which betrayed his true feelings. His team have shed the first points of his tenure – wastefully, given their dominance for an hour in south Wales – to let a gap open up to Manchester City at the top. That could widen to a chasm in the months ahead if the worrying blend of profligacy and defensive fragility shown here is maintained.

This was one of those madcap occasions on which the Premier League so prides itself, a mismatch turned improbable yet ferocious end-to-end frenzy, but it was not a game Conte enjoyed. How could he when his team missed an opportunity to rattle up a cricket score before the break and then, unnerved by the belated injection of pace into Swansea City ranks, panicked to permit the hosts a route back into the match? His captain, John Terry, left the ground on crutches after pulling up in stoppage time with an ankle problem, rendering him a doubt for Friday’s awkward test against Liverpool, while the manager found the focus drawn back to the division’s pantomime villain of the moment, Diego Costa, yet again.

The Spain international’s goals preserved a point for Chelsea, his second coming courtesy of an overhead kick after Branislav Ivanovic’s attempt had looped up from Jordi Amat’s heel. The effort cannoned in off Federico Fernández to leave the locals spitting that Costa, of all people, should deny them an improbable win. They had railed up to then at his perceived eagerness to crumple dramatically to the turf, for all that Andre Marriner felt compelled to book a trio of home players for fouling the striker from behind.

Costa, defended vehemently by his manager who bemoaned the treatment he was afforded by Amat and Fernández, was cautioned for his own lunge on Leroy Fer and tempted the referee to flash a second yellow after tumbling over Lukasz Fabianski’s challenge. His principal frustration by the end, however, was the memory of a miss from close range just before the interval. Had that been converted, Swansea would surely have struggled to muster any kind of comeback. The Brazil-born striker was caught on camera bellowing in anger while the coaches were exchanging their handshakes.

In truth it was all a bit too chaotic for either manager to end up feeling entirely at ease. Guidolin claimed his players will approach the week ahead “with enthusiasm and optimism” and insisted they will adapt to the new-fangled formation he had adopted, but the initial selection, devoid of pace and width where Ivanovic has proved so vulnerable against them in the past, felt like a mistake.

The way Chelsea waltzed through the home side’s awkward collection up to the interval proved as much – as would the apology Guidolin felt compelled to offer Neil Taylor after substituting the infuriated wing-back before the break – even if they capitalised only once on the indecision which had set in.

That reward was prised relatively early on. Ivanovic’s cross was nodded up rather than out by Fernández. Fabianski might have claimed the looping ball but dithered, forcing the defender into a second uncertain header, before Oscar collected and squared to Costa. The finish was crisply dispatched into the corner of the net from the edge of the box as opposing players froze. It was a dismal concession, and one which should have proved the prelude to a thrashing. But with Costa’s subsequent miss, and Fabianski’s smart blocks from Eden Hazard and Willian, Swansea somehow survived.

Then came the panic which, from nowhere, gripped Chelsea and so alarmed Conte. Modou Barrow’s introduction offered Swansea the pace they had previously lacked and it was his break on to Fer’s pass which cut the visitors open. With defenders attracted to the winger, Gylfi Sigurdsson was allowed to dart away from Terry through the middle screaming for a pass. The centre was actually overhit along the edge of the box but Thibaut Courtois, convinced he could intercept, sprang into a challenge and tripped the Icelander. He might have been relieved not to be dismissed but Sigurdsson thumped in the penalty regardless.

Chelsea were flustered, their concentration shattered, and there was a carelessness to Gary Cahill’s dawdle in possession two minutes later after collecting Terry’s pass. The centre-half was still clearly clattered by Fer, charging in from behind and twice making contact with his calves, only for Marriner, mystifyingly, to permit play to continue. The Dutchman squeezed his shot through the onrushing Courtois and his third goal this term dribbled into the net almost apologetically.

Even acknowledging the foul, it was tempting to wonder if David Luiz, a player whose defensive nous is so often questioned and an unused substitute here following his £34m return from Paris Saint-Germain, might improve this team’s backline, a theory that may well be tested on Friday. Thrilling as all this was, Chelsea departed with regrets. Swansea can take some satisfaction from that.

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Telegraph:

Swansea City 2 Chelsea 2: Diego Costa bicycle kick earns Blues point in Premier League thriller
Jason Burt

In a sulphurous match when Chelsea should have been out of sight, then appeared to poke themselves in the eye, it was the vision of referee Andre Marriner which ended up being focused upon. Again.
As ever – or at least since he re-found his form, fitness and fire – Diego Costa was at the centre of it all. But should the striker who so revels in his pantomime-villain status, in his ability to take it to the edge in the pursuit of giving himself an edge, have even been on the pitch when he executed the spectacular overhead kick that salvaged a point for Chelsea? And even then, was it dangerous play with a high boot?

With Costa already booked for his lunge on Leroy Fer,  it was claimed that he dived to try to seek a red card for goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski… but, hold on, Chelsea will understandably argue, Gary Cahill appeared to be fouled by Fer before the midfielder claimed Swansea’s second goal, while Jordi Amat should have been sent off for a series of misdemeanours.

Several of those were perpetrated on Costa, who as well as being cautioned himself was also involved in the spiteful incidents that led to yellow cards for Amat, Fer and Federico Fernández.

Both teams will brood with a sense of grievance, but Chelsea know that they should have won this encounter to maintain their 100 per cent start to the campaign. Now it is just Manchester City who can boast that perfect record.

Marriner was at the heart of a decision in the last Premier League match he refereed that has hit City – he did not see Sergio Agüero’s elbow on West Ham United’s Winston Reid which led to a retrospective three-match ban – and the official’s performance will be pored over again; the crimes of the (not so) ancient Marriner, perhaps.

It would be a shame, to be honest. Turn this game another way and it was simply a rip-roaring and superb advert for the topsy-turvy chaotic, full-on emotional rollercoaster that is the Premier League, with one side overrun, dominated, embarrassingly forced into a first-half substitution and change of formation, and almost booed off at half-time, only to overturn logic in two madcap minutes (two minutes and 10 seconds, to be precise) with the other team then desperately fighting for a draw.

So much debate has surrounded Chelsea’s decision to bring back David Luiz for £30 million, after selling the maverick Brazilian to Paris Saint-Germain two years ago for £50 million, but there was little case for the defence continuing as it is after this.

John Terry departed on crutches after being caught late on by Fer and appeared to have hurt his ankle, but the real damage was inflicted on Cahill, who appeared uncertain – and maybe distracted by Luiz’s return. His place is in jeopardy, surely, and he was furious afterwards with the officials, while goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was a bag of nerves.

It appeared a far cry from the well-drilled back line Antonio Conte assembled at Juventus and, with pretty much the same personnel, with Italy, and while he has rejuvenated Costa, Eden Hazard and Oscar, and while he has the insurance of N’Golo Kanté, he will be angry that such a key part of his team was so vulnerable.

That looked highly unlikely as this match unfolded with Swansea manager Francesco Guidolin having selected such a defensive line-up that his intention of damage limitation – and the fear of what Chelsea could inflict – was clear, even if it was quickly unpicked.

Chelsea scored first, when a cross by Branislav Ivanovic was only headed up into the air – and then headed up into the air again – by Fernández as Fabianski dithered. Oscar collected the loose ball and squared to Costa, who slammed a first-time shot into the corner of the net.

There was a shudder of apprehension from the home fans. It appeared ominous as Hazard ran through, only for Fabianski to deflect his shot up on to the roof of the net and then, from a corner, Costa contrived to sidefoot back across goal when he surely should have scored.

The onslaught continued. Guidolin apologised to Neil Taylor as he took the disgusted defender off but he must have felt like issuing a public apology for how his team were set up and performing – while it appeared that the next outcome would be Amat’s dismissal as the Spaniard appeared to lose his head.
Still, just as with the Manchester derby the day before, control can flick like a switch in this league, and it happened with a counter-attack as Fer picked out Modou Barrow, who had replaced Taylor. Barrow swept the ball infield towards the onrushing Gylfi Sigurdsson.

It appeared to be too far ahead, but the ball swung away from Courtois, who lunged to bring down the midfielder. The goalkeeper was booked, not dismissed, with the rules tweaked this season against the ‘double jeopardy’ of losing a goal and a player.
Sigurdsson took the penalty kick. Somehow Swansea were level. Then, even more incredibly, they were ahead.

Terry’s pass was loose but Cahill was even more lackadaisical with Fer pouncing, bundling him over and then running on. His shot was blocked by Courtois but trickled towards Fer, who forced it home from close range. Cahill was fouled but the goal stood.

It was some turnaround, but Swansea had too long to hold on. Chelsea regrouped, and with Conte making changes there was too much attacking firepower to resist. Finally they drew level as Oscar turned the ball back to Ivanovic, who worked his way into space only for his low shot to spin up off Amat. Costa executed a superb scissor-kick: Kyle Naughton was close, and Costa’s boot was near his head, but it was right that the goal stood.

It was Costa’s fourth league goal – it took him until Boxing Day to reach that total last season – and it salvaged a point. There were more chances, with Fabianski thwarting Costa’s bid for a hat-trick before Hazard, of all people, committed a cynical, tactical trip as Barrow threatened to run through. Hazard was cautioned. Even right at the end there was controversy.


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Mail:

Swansea 2-2 Chelsea:

Diego Costa rescues late point for the Blues after costly errors from Thibaut Courtois and Gary Cahill
By RIATH AL-SAMARRAI FOR THE DAILY MAIL

By now Antonio Conte will know the futility of trying to tame Diego Costa. He will also know the trade-off is that the madman in his team has a wonderful ability to save games like this.
What an infuriating and brilliant example of the Costa paradox this was, with the Chelsea striker simultaneously at his spectacular best and most infuriating, scoring two fine goals and being involved in four bookings.

He had scored the first-half goal that for a time seemed enough to win this game, and then he acrobatically scored the late equaliser that rescued it after two second-half Swansea sucker punches from Gylfi Sigurdsson and Leroy Fer.

In between, he snarled, frothed and made faces at a linesman over an inconsequential throw-in. That is him, a tornado of chaos sucking in all around him for a fight.

At times, that meant Jordi Amat, at others it was Fer and Federico Fernandez. There was also a rather theatrical fall in the second half and yet another contorted face for referee Andre Marriner when the appeal was ignored.

All this just two days after Conte had spoken of the need for his striker to channel his aggression in the ‘right’ way. By the look of it, not a single word made it past the stubble and the scowls. By the look of Conte last night, Chelsea’s manager was not especially fussed.

‘I’m pleased because Diego showed everyone that he has fantastic behaviour,’ Conte said. That was stretching the point, even if Conte was right to later highlight the provocation his striker draws. Amat, particularly, seemed on a mission to irritate Costa into the kind of reaction that might give Swansea a numerical advantage.

But Costa is a master of these Machiavellian games, a hunter of retaliations who knows how not to be hunted, and he did not succumb. There is a dark art in that, and on Sunday it sat well with his real gift for putting the balls in the net given the slightest opportunity. Both his strikes were the work of a brilliant predator. 

His tally for this season now stands at four goals, though it was some mystery how Chelsea did not earn a win at the Liberty Stadium, given how strongly they started the game.
They cruised for so long and yet ended up in a position where they had to be grateful to fall only two points behind Manchester City.

With it, their perfect start to the season has become merely a very good one. ‘Chelsea deserved to win,’ Conte said. ‘We created a lot and I think we dominated.’

Conte looked exasperated and with some justification. Quite simply, they overpowered Swansea at the start of this match. The Welsh club are going through a rough time, having opened this campaign with two defeats in three games and a disappointing transfer window.

There is a serious anxiety around the place that this could be a long slog against relegation and it did not offer much hope when their Italian manager, Francesco Guidolin, started with an entirely new system that failed to last a half. He went with five at the back for the first time and yet still Chelsea had unmarked men with almost every attack in the first half.

Inside five minutes Chelsea had a chance through Willian, and in the next 10 came opportunities for Ivanovic and Willian again. Questionable Swansea defending for all.

A matter of time, then, and it came on 18 minutes. The goal stemming from poor work in Swansea’s defence, with Federico Fernandez twice failing to head clear an Ivanovic cross before Oscar squared for Costa.

The striker steered the ball through a crowd and past Lukasz Fabianski for his sixth goal against Swansea — no Premier League team has conceded more to him.

Eden Hazard almost made it 2-0 immediately afterwards with a slaloming run past two defenders before being stopped by Fabianski. He is very close to being the wrecking ball of two seasons ago, though the feeling is the 2014-15 Hazard would have finished what he started so brilliantly.

Swansea were sinking and Guidolin responded by hauling off Neil Taylor for Mo Barrow in the 41st minute and reverting from a failing system to a back four. Taylor was clearly unhappy and Guidolin later apologised to his left back after the whistle.

The impact of the change was significant. First Swansea were stabilised and then, with 59 minutes played, Barrow burst down the left and crossed along the edge of the area.

Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois hopelessly misread the bounce and brought down Sigurdsson, who had met the cross from the right. Sigurdsson buried the penalty with Swansea’s first shot on goal in the game. Two minutes later came an even greater surprise. John Terry had passed to Gary Cahill, who dallied and was bundled off the ball by Fer. Chelsea cried foul and had a point, but on went Fer to beat Courtois.

But it was not over. With Costa nothing is predictable. Ivanovic had caused trouble with a shot that bounced off Amat and into the air, and that is where it found Costa, who twisted his body and fired in via a deflection with a bicycle kick.

Off he ran, screaming and shouting and waving his arms. Then, among it all, was a smile.
A win became a crazy defeat and a crazy defeat became a crazy draw. Not ideal for Chelsea or Costa; thoroughly entertaining for everyone else.

MATCH FACTS, PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE AND MATCH ZONE
SWANSEA (5-3-1-1): Fabianski 7, Naughton 5.5, Fernandez 4.5, Amat 6.5, Taylor 5 (Barrow 41', 7), Fer 8, Cork 6, Ki 6.5, Sigurdsson 7.5 (Rangel 89'), Kingsley 5.5, Llorente 4
SUBS NOT USED: van der Hoorn, Britton, Nordfeldt, Montero, Fulton
GOALS: Sigurdsson (59' pen), Fer (62')
BOOKED: Fernandez, Amat, Fer

CHELSEA (4-1-4-1): Courtois 4.5; Ivanovic 6.5, Cahill 4.5, Terry 6.5, Azpilicueta 6; Kante 8; Willian 6.5 (Moses 77'), Oscar 8 (Batshuayi 88'), Matic 7.5 (Fabregas 76'), Hazard 7; Diego Costa 8.5
SUBS NOT USED: Begovic, Alonso, Pedro, Luiz
GOALS: Costa (18', 81')
BOOKED: Courtois, Terry, Hazard, Costa

REFEREE: Andre Marriner
MAN OF THE MATCH: Diego Costa
ATTENDANCE: 20,865
*Ratings by Oliver Todd at the Liberty Stadium

SUPER STAT
Chelsea have now conceded four goals this season despite facing just seven shots on target. Only Southampton have a worse record in the league, conceding six goals from 10 shots on target.

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Mirror:

Swansea 2-2 Chelsea: Diego Costa salvages late point for wasteful Blues - 5 things we learned

BY MIRROR FOOTBALL

The Spaniard scored twice in south Wales to give Antonio Conte's men a share of the spoils - having earlier looked sure-fire winners at the Liberty Stadium

Diego Costa's 81st minute equaliser salvaged a point for wasteful Chelsea, as they were held to a 2-2 draw at Swansea.

Costa scored twice for Antonio Conte's men, but the Italian will have been frustrated as his side conceded two quick-fire second-half goals to the Welsh side.

The Spanish hitman has started the season in fine form, and wasted little time in nabbing his third league goal of the campaign.

Teed up wonderfully by Oscar - who had no right to be aware of his teammates positioning - the Spain striker fired past Lukasz Fabianski to hand the Blues the 16th minute advantage in south Wales.

Chelsea created a host of chances in the first period but couldn't put daylight between themselves and their hosts - and were made to pay 15 minutes into the second half, as the Swans turned things around.

A break out of defence from Modou Barrow saw him play a cross-field ball for Gylfi Sigurdsson, running through on goal; Thibault Courtois initially hesitated, before deciding to make a challenge bringing down the Icelandic midfielder - who himself made no mistake from the penalty spot.

And then Leroy Fer was given the benefit of the doubt by referee Andre Marriner when appearing to foul Gary Cahill, and put the Welsh side in front with his third goal of the season.

However, as the Swans sunk deeper and deeper, increasingly giving up ground and possession to the visitors, they eventually conceded an equaliser, nine minutes from time.

A clipped pass into the penalty area found Oscar's clever run and he fed Branislav Ivanovic in an inside right position; the Serbian easily got round Stephen Kingsley before his shot was deflected up into the air, where Costa fired home with an acrobatic effort.

Both sides went on to have chances to claim victory, but in the end neither could claim a winning goal.

Here are five things we learned at the Liberty Stadium...

1. Diego Costa is the centre of attention - again

Love him or hate him, Diego Costa is rarely boring.
The 27-year-old even spent his international break riling up the Spanish press before returning to London.

He was once again one of the main protagonists in this topsy-turvy encounter, netting a brilliant opener before having a late penalty appeal turned down.
The Brazilian-born striker’s goal was a superb first-time finish and it had looked to put Chelsea into the driving seat.

Swansea came back, scoring twice, only for Costa to once again sniff the spotlight and find himself firmly in its glare once again with an acrobatic volley to equalise.
He should have won it on 84 minutes, but Eden Hazard waited too long to pass him the ball and his shot was blocked by Lukasz Fabianski.

2. The penny has finally dropped with Leroy Fer

Leroy Fer has always been a very capable footballer.

The Dutchman is a multi-talented midfielder, competent in a number of midfield roles. He’s a senior Dutch international, blessed with a clever footballing brain and good technique, having had a good grounding in his homeland at first Feyenoord and then Twente.

In 2013 he joined Norwich and failed to pull up any trees at Carrow Road - his most noteworthy incident coming against Cardiff when he was criticised for his lack of sportsmanship.
Norwich went down and Fer jumped ship, joining QPR for £8million. At Loftus Road he was again relegated, before joining Swansea on loan last January.

He did enough in the second half of last term to earn a permanent deal in south Wales and he repaid Guidolin’s faith with three goals already this season. But it’s more than just his goals.
At the heart of midfield, he’s making smarter decisions, taking greater responsibility, cajoling those around him. His technical qualities have been the reason why he’s earned moves to three Premier League clubs. Now it’s his all-round showings which are going to play a key role in Swansea’s hopes of staying in the top flight.

3. Three or four at the back, it doesn’t matter for Swansea

Francesco Guidolin switched to three at the back for Chelsea’s visit today but it didn’t take long for him to realise his mistake.

Diego Costa capitalised on their defensive confusion to open the scoring and Eden Hazard was causing havoc cutting in from the wing without a full-back to oppose him.
Guidolin switched to four at the back before half time - hooking Neil Taylor - which helped steady them; but they still looked weak. And that’s the problem they’re going to face this season, at least until January.

Ashley Williams wasn't a world-class centre-back but he made those around him look an awful lot better than they were. Now he’s gone, they’ve lost someone to organise the remaining rabble.
Swansea’s defence looks like the back line of a team that’s going down. They’ve got decent options higher up the pitch but it may not be enough to save them. Here, they were lucky some of Chelsea's finishing was so woeful.

4. Oscar’s renaissance

Diego Costa and Eden Hazard are not the only Chelsea players to have been handed a new lease of life under Antonio Conte, with Brazilian midfielder Oscar again proving a decisive influence on affairs here.
Now 25, the ex-Internacional man has been with the Blues since 2012, and this was his 195th appearance for the club. In that time there have been some divine moments and some afternoons where he’s looked like he’d rather be anywhere else.

But under Conte, he appears refreshed, happy in himself and in his role. Rather than playing as a No.10, he’s been given more responsibility working both ways in a 4-1-4-1 formation and is thriving.
“In the last few seasons I have played as a No.10 or as a winger. Now I’m going back to my original position of No.8, attacking and defending from box to box, which is my original role and the one I like the most.”

This was an afternoon when Oscar’s showing was probably a seven out of 10, in terms of general quality with the ball. But the one moment when he did produce something special - finding Diego Costa unmarked when he had no right to be aware of his teammate - showed a player very much at ease with what he’s doing right now.

5. Not-so-triumphant return for David Luiz

David Luiz said upon his return to Chelsea that he always knew he’d be back at the club.
But even if he really did envisage himself back with the Blues, he probably didn’t think his second coming would see him twiddling his thumbs on the bench.

Chelsea spent £34million re-signing the Brazilian they sold for £50million just two seasons ago, but even those sky-high transfer fees don’t guarantee you a starting spot under Antonio Conte.
Luiz faces a fight to get back into this side and will need to prove himself again at the club.
If Gary Cahill plays like this again, however, the fight may be a first round knockout.

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Star:

Swansea 2 Chelsea 2: Costa saves point for the Blues in thriller at the Liberty

ANTONIO CONTE should have one of those signs on his office wall saying: The impossible we do overnight, miracles take a little longer.

By Ralph Ellis

The Italian who was brought into Stamford Bridge to rebuild a side that had crumbled from Champions to tenth has already created a dramatic turnaround.
But here was an afternoon which proved he is still a million miles from bringing back the Premier League prize.

The day after Manchester United had dropped off the early pace, Chelsea had a chance to make a statement that they could stick with Manchester City as the only other 100 per cent club but blew it.
In the end Diego Costa’s tumbling, acrobatic overhead kick rescued them a point to at least keep Conte’s unbeaten record running.

But Chelsea should never have needed that, should never have failed to build on the early lead that the Spanish striker had given them.

And certainly they shouldn’t have fallen behind to a Gylfi Sigurdsson penalty and then a scrambled goal by Leroy Fer.

Title winners don’t dominate games but fail to win. They certainly don’t gift two in as many minutes to an opposition who seem to have no idea how to create a goal of their own.

And when they have got back into a game with 10 minutes to go they go on and take the chances to win it, rather than squander some more.
So much of the game was about Costa. After last season’s miserable campaign he has been reborn as the snarling, angry, brooding striker who upsets defenders and scores goals.

He has four in as many games now. Last season he hadn’t got that many until Boxing Day.
He terrorised a defence that Swansea manager Francesco Guidolin had rebuilt to try to stop him. The Italian tore up all the club’s tactical plans built over six seasons in the Premier League to start with three at the back.

But he abandoned the tactic after 40 minutes with his side getting battered yet, ridiculously, only a goal down.

Keeper Lucasz Fabianski had made two great saves even before Costa got the first of his two goals after 18 minutes.

Federico Fernando’s poor header was picked up by Oscar on the edge of the box and he laid the ball into Costa’s path for the Spaniard to finish clinically in the bottom corner.
           
Only a superb save from Fabianski, sprawling at the feet of Eden Hazard, stopped Chelsea going two up a couple of minutes later.

And as Swansea’s defence began to groan at the seams, midfielder Leroy Fer became the first of three players booked for fouling the striker.

Costa, inevitably, took his own retribution and thought he’d got away with catching Fer with a hefty challenge off the ball but ref Andre Marriner waited for the game to stop and showed him a yellow card.
By half time Swansea had touched the ball inside Chelsea’s penalty box only four times.
But after missing some more chances they suddenly pressed the self-destruct button.

Marriner decided against giving Jordi Amat a second yellow for a crude foul on Branislav Ivanovic.
And he then angered Chelsea even more awarding a penalty as Courtois and Sigurdsson both chased a loose ball on the edge of the box and the Icelandic star tumbled over the challenge.

Sigurdsson got up to put it away and less than two minutes later Swansea, incredibly, were ahead.
Terry played the ball square to Cahill, whose bad touch was punished as Fer robbed him of the ball and went on to bundle it home despite Courtois blocking his first shot.

Chelsea claimed Cahill was fouled, and TV replays suggested they were right. But the England defender was as much to blame for his casual touch.

Chelsea’s seething sense of injustice continued when Fabianski brought down Costa on the edge of the box but Marriner didn’t give a free kick or book the striker for diving.

It seemed incredible that Chelsea could be losing and Conte brought on Cesc Fabregas who immediately set up Oscar, only for another chance to go begging.

But the equaliser finally came when Fabregas again picked out Oscar and although Amat blocked Ivanovic’s shot the ball ballooned up for Costa to meet with a spectacular overhead kick.
He should have had a hat-trick, denied by Fabianski’s point blank save from a rasping shot. But then maybe that would have hidden the amount of work that Conte has still got to do.

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