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Chelsea boosted their hopes of a top-four finish as Cesc Fabregas’ early strike earned them victory against relegation-threatened Swansea at the Liberty Stadium.
Hazard made a surging approach towards the hosts’ penalty box in the 4th minute before teeing up his team-mate, who made no mistake in wrapping his weaker left foot around the ball to beat the diving Lukasz Fabianski.
Swansea – starting without a recognised senior striker owing to Wilfried Bony’s injury and Tammy Abraham being ineligible to play against his parent club – were toothless in attack and have a nervy few weeks ahead of them as they seek the points required to maintain their Premier League status for the eighth season.
We analyse what Chelsea got right in a narrow but comfortable victory:
#1 Playing Hazard in a central role
In last week’s FA Cup semi-final, Eden Hazard started on the left side of a 3-4-3 setup and found his contribution comparatively subdued than what manager Antonio Conte and the Chelsea fans would have wished. Conte changed his formation at the hour mark, taking off Willian and allowing Hazard to operate in a more central position behind striker Olivier Giroud.
The switch to a 3-5-2, where Cesc Fabregas and Tiemoue Bakayoko occupied the midfield spots on either side of N’Golo Kante, worked almost immediately as Hazard began to have a more direct impact, taking on defenders one by one and creating space in the box to get a pass through.
Come Swansea and Conte had no hesitation in sticking to the formation that helped his side muster control of the semi-final in the latter stages. The fleet-footed Belgian was the cynosure of Chelsea’s attack yet again, receiving the ball in midfield and making dangerous approaches at the three-man Swansea defence, who were only too well aware of his ability to waltz past them in the blink of an eye and open up a chance to test their goalkeeper.
His fourth-minute assist for Cesc Fabregas was just an illustration of his influence on the game if given the license to express himself as a second striker.
#2 Building from the back
With Swansea having Jordan Ayew as their most advanced player on the pitch, Chelsea knew that they could risk playing high up the pitch and involve their centre-backs in possession without the threat of a counter-attack. Neither was there the pace of Tammy Abraham to beat them on the offside trap, nor the strength of Wilfried Bony to challenge the defence physically.
The FA Cup finalists thus played a patient build-up game – controlled, of course, by N’Golo Kante, who hardly got a foot wrong in midfield. One out of Antonio Rudiger or Cesar Azpilicueta were occasionally seen taking the ball into the midfield in the hope of finding a good pass themselves.
Swansea, though shading the possession stats, were unable to do anything productive with it. They did not have a sniff at goal until very late in the game and were outnumbered by Chelsea’s three-strong midfield. The high-line tactic won’t work against sides with pacey forwards, but with no established number nine in Swansea’s ranks, it was a risk worth taking for Conte’s men.
#3 Keeping the Swansea wingbacks at bay
As Swansea were struggling to find a way through the opposition midfield and the long ball tactic unlikely to work in the absence of a focal point, their only other viable option was to attack from the wings. However, Chelsea had done their homework on every front, it had seemed.
Swansea’s wingbacks in Connor Roberts and Martin Olsson were constantly tied down by Victor Moses and the emerging Emerson Palmieri. The Swans’ duo hardly got a meaningful cross in or a free approach towards the byline. Moses’ high pressing game meant that Olsson was forced to defend, while January recruit Emerson kept a check on Premier League debutant Roberts runs during their tussle on the opposite wing.
It was only after the 75th minute when Emerson was really tested against Roberts' replacement in a more attack-minded Tom Carroll, whose pace was crucial for Swansea, in hope of getting an equaliser that would have given their survival hopes a massive boost. Overall, it was a pretty unscathed evening for the visitors’ wingbacks.
