It was quick and clinical. A tough looking fixture at Swansea City became an impressive rout in no time at all. It took Oscar less than two minutes to open the scoring and he and
his estranged father
Diego Costa less than 45 to make the scoreline 4-0. It was, quite simply, the type of game we as fans expect from the Blues week in and week out. The passing was flowing and the defense was stout; it was simply perfection.
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By the time substitute Andre Schurrle capped off the scoring at 5-0 — and subsequently ruined Oscar’s hopes of a hat-trick — the match was well and truly over.
Chelsea FC manager Jose Mourinho had plenty to laud after the final whistle:
"It was the perfect game, everything went in our direction. To be 4-0 up at half-time is not game over, especially in the Premier League, but it’s a good situation to control it and we did that in the second half."
Even at 1-0 Swansea had not given up early on, maintaining a dominant attack and stretch of possession… for about the opening ten minutes. It seemed that the Swans exhausted most of their remaining energy attempting to get back into the game.
Costa’s 20′ goal took the rest of the wind out of their Welsh sails. The aforementioned passing clinic was on display as Willian, Oscar, and Cesc Fabregas linked up to provide the striker with a gift on a silver platter. Having no intention of relinquishing the Premier League scoring record, Costa smashed in a goal passed the stranded Lukasz Fabianski.
The football equivalent of waving the white flag came in the 34′ when Swansea’s Frederico Fernandez attempted to show off in his defensive third with a no-look pass towards Fabianski but right to Costa who coolly slotted the ball past the baffled goalkeeper for his second and Chelsea FC’s third.
It was refreshing to see Chelsea finish a game with such gusto. Where so often teams have stormed back behind the roar of the home crowd or late-game defensive errors Chelsea FC instead held on and maintained the attack, and thus the momentum.
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The Brazilian pairing of Oscar and Costa were deadly, combining again for the 4th goal. Oscar’s night was at its peak as the second half saw Schurrle — in typical German fashion — come to rain on the Brazilian’s three-goal parade.
Is it safe to say that the Blues had found their identity? Oh, wait, Mourinho said just that:
"The team is playing with high quality and with a clear identity of playing. Sometimes teams are good and play well but without a clear identity. This team all season have been trying to go in a certain direction where we have a certain kind of way to play football."
The movement, the defensive shape, the offensive fluidity were all exceptional. The midfield were at their usual brilliance, while the defense looked to be back to the air-tight suffocation they’ve normally displayed since Mourinho’s return.
Yet, the Portuguese boss was quick to play down the game’s significance:
"Obviously everybody wants the team to play very well – I am the first one – but we have to win competitions"
If Chelsea FC can maintain this form for the rest of the season, the question won’t be if they can win silverware, but how many they will win.