Swansea City beat Chelsea 1-0 to climb up the Premier League table and further away from the relegation zone at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday evening. A Gylfi Sigurdsson goal was enough to give the Welsh side all three points as the Blues’ 15-match unbeaten run in the league came to an end.
Chelsea were without a number of first-team players in attack and defence and they paid the price for not having good backups. With Diego Costa suspended and Loic Remy out with a groin injury, Alexandre Pato started up front for the Blues. For the Swans, Andre Ayew was available after sitting out the last three games.
With Chelsea playing a second-string backline of Azpilicueta, Miazga, Ivanovic and Baba, they struggled to keep the Welsh side at bay. The Swans took the lead in the first half when Gylfi Sigurdsson’s left-footed effort from the middle of the box found the bottom left corner.
The Icelandic midfielder has been responsible for getting the Swans out of the relegation zone in 2016 with crucial goals.
Sigurdsson almost had an assist in the second half when his cross into the box was met by Jefferson Montero. Although the Ecuadorian forward timed his leap to perfection, his header went over the bar.
At the other end, Lukasz Fabianski kept a clean sheet to help Swansea reach the safety of 40 points in the Premier League table – a target that usually helps a club avoid relegation. Even though Radamel Falcao was introduced in the second half, the London side failed to find a way through.
Even five minutes of added time was not enough for Guus Hiddink to avoid his first defeat in the league this season as Swansea celebrated their first ever win over Chelsea in the Premier League.
Manchester City 2-1 West Bromwich Albion
Manuel Pellegrini’s side consolidated their grip on fourth spot in the league table for the time being with a come-from-behind win over West Brom at the Etihad. With one eye on the Champions League quarter-final second leg against PSG on the back of Pellegrini’s mind, City benched both Yaya Toure and Kevin De Bruyne who came on in the second half as substitutes.
Stephane Sessegnon had opened the scoring for Tony Pulis’s side as early as the sixth minute to heap pressure on the Sky Blues. It was only his second goal in 42 EPL games. But the Baggies’ hero soon turned villain when he brought down Aleksandar Kolarov in the box to concede a penalty.
Sergio Aguero stepped up and converted the penalty to mark his 200th game for the club with a goal. It also moved him into the all-time top 10 goalscorers for City.
With City chasing a winner, it was Samir Nasri who provided the winner when he pounced on a rebound after Aguero’s shot was blocked. West Brom did have a chance to equalise right at the death but James McClean’s shot went just wide of the post with Joe Hart beaten.
Other EPL results
Crystal Palace 1-0 Norwich City (Jason Puncheon)
Southampton 3-1 Newcastle United (Shane Long, Graziano Pelle, Victor Wanyama; Andros Townsend)
Watford 1-1 Everton (Jose Holebas; James McCarthy)
Aston Villa 1-2 Bournemouth (Jordan Ayew; Steve Cook, Joshua King)
