Swansea 1-1 Chelsea

Under-scrutiny Chelsea had to settle
for a point as Pablo Hernandez struck
two minutes from time to earn
Swansea a 1-1 draw at the Liberty
Stadium.
Victor Moses's 61st-minute header
looked to have capped a workmanlike,
if not sparkling, performance but a
Hernandez strike from the edge of the
area foiled the visitors' bid to regain
top spot.
Victory would have provided a
welcome distraction while storm
clouds from the Mark Clattenburg
allegations still hover but Swansea, as
awkward here as they were against
Manchester City last week, did not
deserve another defeat.
It was a match that held promise for
the purists and there was pep to both
sides' early play, Oscar and Eden
Hazard dangerous on the edge of the
area and Swansea keen to counter
down the right.
A third-minute break saw Hernandez
send Angel Rangel through, albeit from
an angle, but defensive caution kicked
in and the pull-back to Michu meant
the chance was wasted.
The visitors played keep-ball tidily but
too often wove patterns too elaborate,
Michu's first-time volley from a
Hernandez chip over the top a rare act
of decisiveness (13).
Chelsea's threat came chiefly from set-
pieces but Leon Britton was on the line
to stop Branislav Ivanovic sliding in at
the back post and Fernando Torres
saw a couple of headers land safely in
Gerhard Tremmel's gloves.
Di Matteo might have been aggrieved
to see Ashley Williams not punished for
a clumsy tangle with Hazard soon
before the break but the first half had
been even, the killer pass elusive for
both teams.
On came Ramires with licence to feed
the forward line and he looked to have
stirred some impetus when Moses
followed up Hazard's low drive with a
header that dropped narrowly over the
bar.
But Michu provided a scare at the
other end before the former Wigan
man finally made the breakthrough
with another header, only the deftest
of touches needed to direct Gary
Cahill's flick-on past Tremmel.
Michael Laudrup turned to Danny
Graham and Nathan Dyer as the hail
pummelled the turf, the latter's cross-
cum-shot making Cech backtrack.
But the hosts finally profited when Itay
Shechter teed up Swansea's record
signing to drill low into the corner, the
point lifting Laudrup's side towards the
tantalising comfort of mid-table.