MX23RW : Sunday, November 24 16:00:02| >> :120:9826:9826:
[monks data]
Chelsea logo
Premier League
Aug 8, 2015 at 5.30pm UK
 
Swansea logo

2-2

Oscar (23'), Fernandez (30' og.)
FT(HT: 2-1)
Ayew (29'), Gomis (55' pen.)

Player Ratings: Chelsea 2-2 Swansea City

Sports Mole analyses how the players fared in Chelsea's opening-day draw with Swansea City at Stamford Bridge.

Ten-man Chelsea held Swansea City to a 2-2 draw in their Premier League opener at Stamford Bridge tonight.

An Oscar free kick and a Federico Fernandez own goal, either side of Andre Ayew's equaliser, saw the champions boast a slender lead at the break.

Thibaut Courtois saw red on 52 minutes for fouling Bafetimbi Gomis inside the box, before the Frenchman rolled home an equaliser to earn a point.

Here, Sports Mole sorts the heroes from the villains in West London.

Swansea City's Ghanaian striker Andre Ayew scores an equalising goal to take the score to 1-1 during the English Premier League football match between Chelsea and Swansea City at Stamford Bridge in London on August 8, 2015© Getty Images




CHELSEA

Goal

Thibaut Courtois: Pulled off a fine stop to keep out Gomis just before Ayew's equaliser, but was then uncharacteristically reckless in conceding the penalty and being sent off. (4/10)

Defence

Branislav Ivanovic: Will not look forward to the return fixture after struggling to contain the problematic Montero throughout. (5/10)

Gary Cahill: Blocked Fabianski in the build-up to Oscar's opener but could have been tighter to Gomis in the build-up to Courtois's dismissal. (5/10)

John Terry: Booked and looked slightly off the pace at times. He will improve but Chelsea cannot afford too many games like that from their skipper this season. (5/10)

Cesar Azpilicueta: Occasionally struggled with the trickery of Andre Ayew but overall was one of Chelsea's better players on the day. (6/10)

Midfield

Nemanja Matic: His usual imposing self but at times found himself over-run in midfield until Zouma replaced Fabregas to help him out. (6/10)

Cesc Fabregas: Struggled to have much of an influence in the final third as he often got crowded out in midfield. Subbed on the hour mark. (5/10)

Willian: Had a big role in the second goal as it was his cross that deflected off Fernandez and looped over Fabianski. (6/10)

Oscar: Courted plenty of fouls and produced a number of excellent deliveries from dead-ball situations. Opened the scoring and was certainly Chelsea's best player. Unlucky to be sacrificed when Courtois went off. (7/10)

Eden Hazard: Looked relatively lifeless until springing to life in the final 10 minutes but it was too late for the Blues to snatch the win. (5/10)

Attack

Diego Costa: Lacked service throughout and no real goalscoring chances by virtue of Swansea's back four. (5/10)

Substitutes

Asmir Begovic: Could do little about the penalty but pulled off a series of fine stops to salvage a point for Chelsea in the end. Fine cameo. (7/10)

Kurt Zouma: Replaced Fabregas and sat with Matic in midfield as they proved successful in stemming the visitors' momentum a little. (7/10)



SWANSEA

Goal

Lukasz Fabianski: Was partially unsighted for Oscar's goal but could do very little about the second as it looped over his head and into the net. (6/10)

Defence

Kyle Naughton: Excelled in the unenviable task of keeping PFA Player of the Year Hazard quiet for the most part. (7/10)

Federico Fernandez: Brilliant performance despite the own goal, which would be dreadfully unfair to blame him for. Along with Williams, kept Costa out of the game. (7/10)

Ashley Williams: Proved a worthy adversary for the fiery Costa as he and Fernandez refused to give the Spain striker a sniff at goal throughout. (7/10)

Neil Taylor: Got forward excellently and produced a number of fine deliveries from left-back but the visitors could not utilise them. (7/10)

Midfield

Ki Sung-Yueng: Only lasted some 42 minutes before being replaced by the brilliant Cork. Had one shot that stung the gloves of Courtois. (6/10)

Jonjo Shelvey: Was lethal with his passing throughout and supplied the excellent over-the-top ball that Gomis latched on to in the build-up to the game-changing moment. (7/10)

Jefferson Montero: Gave Ivanovic headache after headache and was unlucky not to score by forcing Begovic into a number of tidy saves. Comfortably man of the match tonight. (8/10)

Andre Ayew: His first taste of English football but did not look overly perturbed by the physicality of England's top flight and gave as good as he got. Finished the game with a bandage over his eye and a classy debut goal under his belt. (7/10)

Gylfi Sigurdsson: Like Hazard, did not surface until late on. Swansea may have left with three points had he been on his game tonight. (5/10)

Attack

Bafetimbi Gomis: A game of two halves from the Frenchman, who missed two sitters and conceded the free kick that led to the goal, but also played a role in the first equaliser, before winning and scoring the penalty to level up again. (7/10)

Substitutes

Wayne Routledge: His replacement of Montero looked risky by Monk but the little winger did enough to vindicate his manager with an exciting cameo. (6/10)

Jack Cork: Superb performance after replacing Ki shortly before the break. He pulled off a number of vital tackles and used the ball well in possession. (7/10)

Eder: Given his Premier League debut but struggled to have the same impact as fellow debutant Ayew. (4/10)


ID:237969: cacheID:237969:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:8671:No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
The Swansea City fans celebrate after Swansea City's French striker Bafetimbi Gomis (C floor) celebrates scoring a second equalising goal from the penalty spot for 2-2 during the English Premier League football match between Chelsea and Swansea City at St
Read Next:
Match Analysis: Chelsea 2-2 Swansea City
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
6pm
Vikings
@
Bears
6pm
Lions
@
Colts
6pm
Patriots
@
Dolphins
6pm
Buccaneers
@
Giants
6pm
Chiefs
@
Panthers
6pm
Titans
@
Texans
6pm
Cowboys
@
Washington
9.05pm
Broncos
@
Raiders
9.25pm
49ers
@
Packers
9.25pm
Cardinals
@
Seahawks
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool119112161528
2Manchester CityMan City127232217523
3Chelsea126422314922
4Arsenal126422112922
5Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton126422116522
6Tottenham HotspurSpurs1261527131419
7Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest125431513219
8Aston Villa125431919019
9Newcastle UnitedNewcastle115331311218
10Fulham125341717018
11Brentford125252222017
12Manchester UnitedMan Utd114341212015
13Bournemouth124351617-115
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham113351319-612
15Everton122551017-711
16Leicester CityLeicester122461523-810
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves122372028-89
18Crystal Palace121561017-78
19Ipswich TownIpswich111551222-108
20Southampton11119721-144


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!