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Demba Ba goal secures three points for Chelsea over 10-man Swansea Demba Ba goal secures three points for Chelsea over 10-man Swansea
(about 1 hour later)
The forgotten man of Chelsea is doing a decent job of reminding José Mourinho that he might have something to offer after all. For the second time in the space of six days, Demba Ba came to Chelsea's rescue, following up his decisive late strike against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League in midweek with the only goal of the game here to keep alive their hopes of winning the title.The forgotten man of Chelsea is doing a decent job of reminding José Mourinho that he might have something to offer after all. For the second time in the space of six days, Demba Ba came to Chelsea's rescue, following up his decisive late strike against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League in midweek with the only goal of the game here to keep alive their hopes of winning the title.
Mourinho may have conceded defeat on that front after losing at Crystal Palace but Chelsea, make no mistake, are still in the race. This victory lifts them to within two points of Liverpool and they still have to go to Anfield in a fortnight's time. Mourinho may have conceded defeat on that front after losing at Crystal Palace last month but Chelsea, make no mistake, are still in the race. This narrow but deserved victory lifts them to within two points of Liverpool and they still have to go to Anfield. Either side of that fixture Chelsea take on Atlético Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals. They would still need Manchester City to slip up to triumph in the Premier League but it is shaping up to be quite a climax to the season.
It was not a vintage performance but they ended a run of three successive away defeats courtesy of Ba's goal and Chico Flores's early red card. The Swansea defender was sent off in the 16th minute, after being booked twice in the space of 123 seconds. To their credit, Swansea never surrendered but it was always going to be a big ask to keep Chelsea out for 74 minutes. Few would have imagined that Ba would end up playing an important role. It has been quite a week for the man who has spent much of the season confined to the substitutes' bench, listening to Mourinho's put downs about his lack of "real strikers". There is nothing particularly refined about Ba, and there remains every chance he will move on in the summer, but it is impossible to ignore the fact that he has scored two hugely significant goals in his last two appearances.
Ba, making only his third league start of the season, capitalised on a catalogue of Swansea mistakes to score the vital goal in the second half. Granted only his third league start of the season – a penny for the thoughts of Fernando Torres, who remained on the bench throughout, even when Mourinho decided to go for broke – Ba capitalised on a catalogue of Swansea mistakes to score midway through the second half, just when the visitors were starting to become anxious about whether the breakthrough would come.
There was no escaping the main talking point. Flores's early dismissal changed the complexion of the game and prompted some angry exchanges on the touchline. In truth, the Spaniard could have no complaints about receiving a second yellow card. Already on a booking for a poor challenge on Willian, Flores was playing with fire when he cynically brought down André Schürrle as the German broke away on the Chelsea left. By that point Swansea had long been playing with 10 men, after Chico Flores was dismissed in the 16th minute, when he picked up two yellow cards in the space of 123sec. Already on a booking for a poor challenge on Willian, Flores was playing with fire when he cynically brought down André Schürrle as the German broke away on the Chelsea left. It was a ridiculous challenge for the Spaniard to make.
The way Phil Dowd handled the incident was odd, though, to say the least. The referee awarded the free-kick and the expectation was that he would immediately reach for a second yellow card, yet he did nothing of the sort, prompting a furious reaction from Mourinho, who raged at the fourth official, Robert Madley. John Terry then ran to confront Dowd and was waved away. At that point it appeared as though Flores had been granted a reprieve but, after a lengthy delay, Dowd, who appeared to be taking some advice via his ear-piece, brandished a red card. The incident proved controversial because of how Phil Dowd, the referee, handled the situation. While there was no doubt that Flores deserved to be sent off, Dowd initially awarded a free-kick and gave no indication initially that he was going to show a second yellow card.
Now it was Garry Monk's turn to lose his cool with Madley. Gesturing towards Mourinho, the Swansea head coach made it clear that he was deeply unhappy with the Chelsea manager's reaction and seemed to be questioning whether Madley had any involvement in Dowd's belated decision. Mourinho, waving two fingers in the air to signify that it was Flores's second offence, was furious on the touchline and raged at Robert Madley, the fourth official. John Terry then ran to confront Dowd and later admitted that he told the referee "it's a second yellow".
From that moment on it was a question of whether Swansea could hold out. They had been fortunate not to concede as early as the sixth minute, when Mohamed Salah wastefully side-footed Branislav Ivanovic's cut-back wide, although Swansea also came close to scoring before Flores's dismissal. Bony, with a superb twisting header from Àngel Rangel's deep centre, had Petr Cech stretching every sinew to tip the ball over the angle of crossbar and post. Belatedly Dowd arrived at that decision himself and showed a red card to Flores, prompting Garry Monk to lose his cool with Madley. The Swansea head coach was, however, much more restrained afterwards, when he described the circumstances leading up to the decision as "strange" but accepted that Dowd had ultimately got it right.
Although Salah was guilty of squandering another excellent chance on the stroke of half-time, Chelsea struggled to make their numerical advantage count until Mourinho changed things around at the interval. Oscar replaced Ramires and Eto'o supplanted Schürrle as Chelsea reverted to what was effectively a 4-2-4. Swansea were pinned back as Chelsea began to crank up the pressure. From that moment on it was a question of whether Swansea could hold out. They restricted Chelsea to few opportunities for the remainder of the first half – Mohamed Salah, one of five changes from the team that beat PSG, was guilty of two poor misses – but the visitors cranked up the pressure after Mourinho introduced Oscar and Samuel Eto'o for Ramires and Schürrle at the interval.
Ba's glancing header from Ivanovic's cross flashed wide of the far post and Eto'o profligately drilled wide, snatching at a decent chance from Salah's cross. A rare Swansea attack saw Wayne Routledge break from deep before driving a shot that deflected off Terry and behind but there was a sense of inevitability that the Chelsea goal was coming. Ba's glancing header flashed wide and Eto'o snatched at a glorious opportunity, before Swansea's defence was finally breached. The frustration for Monk was that it was such a poor goal to concede. César Azpilicueta was deep inside his own half when he took a throw-in that released the unmarked Nemanja Matic, who was able to stride forward before picking out Ba. Ashley Williams never got tight enough to the Chelsea striker, who shifted the ball on to his left foot before striking a 20-yard shot that Michel Vorm should have kept out.
When the breakthrough did arrive it was a desperately poor goal for Swansea to concede. César Azpilicueta was deep inside his own half when he took a throw-in that picked out Nemanja Matic, who was able to stride forward before finding Ba with a volleyed pass. Ashley Williams was goal-side of Ba but he never got tight enough to the Chelsea striker, who was able to shift the ball on to his left foot before striking a 20-yard shot that Michel Vorm will be bitterly disappointed he failed to keep out. Although Swansea never surrendered, it was difficult to see them finding a way back into the game. Petr Cech, who had made a fine save to tip over Wilfried Bony's superb twisting header in the 13th minute, endured a nervous moment in the closing stages when he scrambled across his line to keep out Jonjo Shelvey's attempted cross but that was as close as Swansea came to an equaliser.
They remain in a precarious position, three points and three places above the relegation zone. "Four games left, it's not a position we want to be in, but we're not chasing, we've got it in our own hands," Monk said. "We need to do something in the next game."
Man of the match Nemanja Matic (Chelsea)