Six lessons learnt from Chelsea’s draw with Swansea City

A tale of two 2-2’s

Despite a strong team that has been winning being on the field backed by a strong bench, Chelsea could only manage a 2-2 draw. It’s hard not to draw parallels to the 2-2 draw against Swansea that started the terrible 2015/2016 campaign.

Chelsea had the lead, failed to kill the game and found themselves level. Courtois gave away a penalty in almost the exact same fashion. He at least stayed on the pitch this time around. Once again, Chelsea looked absolutely dreadful for the last half hour. If not for Diego Costa’s overhead kick, the Blues would have returned to London with a loss.

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Indeed, yesterday’s game was a “greatest hits” reel of Chelsea’s previous two seasons. The first half Chelsea were dominant, much as they were during the 2014/2015 season. Matic, Oscar, Hazard, Willian and Costa were all threatening and Swansea were lucky to be only one down at the break.

The second half was much like Chelsea of 2015/2016. One mistake cost Chelsea the lead, and then the squad were unable to fight their way back.

Hazard suddenly couldn’t make a pass or take a shot. Willian shut off. Matic became a passenger. Oscar became anonymous. Costa grew more and more frustrated, but thankfully found a goal to leave with a point.

Chelsea suffered a worrying drop in the confidence and swagger that Conte had instilled in the team’s first performances. Hopefully they can reclaim the #passion before Chelsea starts spiraling.

Next: Classic Diego Costa Performance