Chelsea – Swansea stats recap

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Chelsea played Swansea yesterday and it was far from a convincing performance, especially in the first half…

Chelsea’s first half against Swansea: 10 shots (3 on target), 86% (160/187) passing, 43.9% possession, 3 successful crosses.

Chelsea have completed only 160 passes in the first half compared to Swansea’s 208.

The side looked flat and lacked any sort of a creative spark – to be quite honest Chelsea were totally outplayed by Swansea. The second half was better, especially when Florent Malouda was subbed out for Romelu Lukaku. I’m saying this not because Lukaku made an impact, but because Malouda simply didn’t…

Malouda today against Swansea: 0 shots, 84% (38/45) passing, 1 chance created, 1 successful cross (7 attempted), 1 tackle, 1 interception.

I’m not one to question the manager’s every decision, but AVB playing Malouda in the middle isn’t working. Chelsea have “scored” just 2 goals in their last 3 matches – a penalty and an own goal. It’s not all Malouda’s fault but in my opinion it’s no coincidence. When Malouda went off, Juan Mata was able to get more involved in the game…

Mata today against Swansea: 2 shots, 88% (42/48) passing, 4 chances created, 4 successful crosses (out of 14).

Chelsea were lucky to get a goal gifted to them at the end of the game to get a vital point from a Swansea team which has impressed this year. I will take 4 out of 6 points from Swansea this season given their current form. Final team stats…

Chelsea today against Swansea: 19 shots (4 on goal), 84% (412/490) passing, 53.7% possession, 10 completed crosses (FOURTY THREE attempted).

Comparing these stats to the first half really emphasizes the difference between the two halves…

McEachran Reveals Swansea Motive

“There were a few others Premier League teams (interested in me), but I chose Swansea because the style of football they play.” – Josh McEachran (TPA)

Chelsea and Swansea pass accuracy

Chelsea is tied with Swansea as the 5th most accurate passing team in Europe, completing 85.5% of their passes.