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Chelsea returned to winning ways against a struggling Swansea City at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night, thanks to a goal from Antonio Rudiger in the 55th minute. The Blues dominated the game from the word go, but could not find the back of the net in the first half despite all their chances.
Antonio Conte was sent to the stands by referee Neil Swarbrick after the Italian ferociously shouted at the fourth official Lee Mason when his side was denied a corner towards the end of the first half.
However, Chelsea continued their domination in the second half and the win helped them retain 3rd place in the table. Here we take a look at the 5 key talking points from the game:
#5 Davide Zappacosta is making good use of his chances
The Italian full-back continued his impressive form from the game at Anfield, and was one of Chelsea's most effective players on the night. Davide Zappacosta surged forward on many instances and contributed significantly to Chelsea's 10 attempts on goal in the first half.
The defender also managed to deliver a few good crosses into the opposition's penalty area but wasn't lucky enough and had nothing to show for it in the end. Despite being taken off for Victor Moses in the second half, Zappacosta has proved his doubters wrong with his recent performances when he had to fill in for the injured Victor Moses.
With Chelsea staring at a busy festive season fixture list, Zappacosta could become one of their key squad players.
#4 Swansea need to turn the tide
Not a lot was expected of Paul Clement's Swansea ahead of the game against Chelsea and they disappointed, yet again. The draw against Bournemouth over the weekend had given a glimmer of hope for the Swans' faithful, but the failure to come away with anything from Stamford Bridge has clawed them back into the heart of the relegation battle.
The goals have certainly dried up for the Welsh club and Clement's side are among the worst in the league at the moment, a worrying sign for any club flirting around at the wrong end of the table.
The loss meant that Swansea are now currently level on points with Crystal Palace, who are at the foot of the table, but the latter have showed signs of resurgence under Roy Hodgson in recent weeks.
With no wins in their last six games, Swansea take on Stoke City this weekend, and are in dire need of knitting a few results together, failing which, could result in Clement's job being in jeopardy.
#3 Willian shines yet again
With one eye on the game against Newcastle United on Saturday and Atletico Madrid next week, Conte opted to provide some much-needed rest for Eden Hazard, who was left on the bench and only made a brief appearance towards the final 10 minutes of the game.
Willian deservedly took his place in the starting line-up on the back of impressive performances against Qarabag and Liverpool. The Brazilian, who came on from the bench at Anfield to score the equalizer for the Blues, was yet again at his best, and created all kinds of problems to the opposition with his pace, trickery and nimble movement.
Despite being a little wasteful on a few occasions, Willian was a key contributor in Chelsea's dominating performance on the night and has further underlined his credentials as a quality first team player who has plenty to offer.
#2 What next for Renato Sanches?
It seemed as if Swansea pulled off a massive deal when they convinced Renato Sanches to join the club on loan from Bayern Munich in the summer. The 2016 Golden Boy award winner was considered to be one of world football's brightest prospects but had struggled for game time at Bayern.
Clement was quick to react and swooped in for the youngster, but things have not gone according to the script for the Portuguese so far in the Premier League. After drawing a lot of criticism over the weekend, during the game against Bournemouth, Sanches continued his poor form with an absolute horror show against Chelsea.
The 20-year-old misplaced several passes early on and struggled to keep possession of the ball. Sanches' poor performance was capped off when he was replaced by Leroy Fer at half-time.
It is unclear as to where he can fit in at parent club Bayern Munich, if he continues to produce performances like the one against Chelsea.
#1 Scoreline does not reflect Chelsea's dominance
Chelsea's win over Swansea City could be best explained as the most one-sided 1-0 win you will witness all season. In contrast to Swansea's two attempts on goal, Chelsea registered a whopping tally of 21 shots in total, with 14 of them coming from inside the box.
However, the Blues failed to muster any end product whatsoever, and were denied a thumping win mainly due to poor finishing and partly due to the heroics of Swansea keeper Lukasz Fabianski. Alvaro Morata, Pedro and Marcos Alonso came the closest for Chelsea in the second half while Davide Zappacosta and Willian were also involved on a few occasions.
Conte will be happy with how his team dominated the game, but at the same time, he will also be worried about their inability to put the game to bed despite creating plenty of chances.
Chelsea's inability to grab a second goal could cost them against some of the bigger sides in the division, but in the end, they did just enough to emerge victorious against Swansea City.
