10-man Chelsea cruise to a 4-1 victory over Swansea at Stamford Bridge!

Hey everyone,
Very sorry I couldn't write a preview to this morning's match - I've been bogged down with a ton of work.  Anyway, as you can see from the title of this post, Chelsea delivered a crushing 4-1 defeat to Swansea City, with Chelsea goals coming from Fernando Torres, Drogba, and two from Ramires, with Torres also receiving a red card for a dangerous tackle on Mike Gower, meaning that he'll be suspended for Chelsea's next match against Bolton on October 2.

Ramires, with two goals, was Man of the Match.

André Villas-Boas went with his usual lineup of 4-3-3 against Swansea's 4-5-1; however, he did make a few key changes to the lineup in accordance with injuries and player performance. Daniel Sturridge, out with a knee injury, was replaced by Nicolas Anelka, who again proved himself to be an excellent forward player. As well, the bench saw the return of DIDIER DROGBA (yay), after his concussion a few weeks ago. Drogba came on as a substitute for Anelka in the 79th, and scored his first goal of the season in the 90th minute. As well, Frank Lampard was taken out of the starting eleven, making way for John Obi Mikel to take his place.

      Mata (Malouda) ------------ Torres (RC)  -------------- Anelka (Drogba)

Meireles (McEachran)  -------- Ramires  ------------------------- Mikel

          Cole  -------------- Terry ------------- Ivanovic ---------- Bosingwa

                                             Cech

Bench: Turnbull, David Luiz, Lampard, Kalou.

NOTABLE CHELSEA PLAYERS:
- Fernando Torres: After Torres' bittersweet performance against Manchester United last weekend, where he netted a goal but then missed a golden opportunity, this morning he delivered another puzzler.  10 minutes after his brilliant goal (which was assisted by Juan Mata), Torres allowed himself to be sent off for a dangerous two-footed tackle (with studs up) on Mike Gower, forcing his team to finish the match with 10 men.
- Ramires: Man of the Match this morning, and very well deserved. Excellent performance, scoring twice with excellent shots each time. As usual, great pace and ball control.
- Nicolas Anelka: Very impressive performance this morning, consistently beating Swansea's defenders and almost scoring with an excellent effort that careened off the crossbar.
- Didier Drogba: In his first appearance for Chelsea after his concussion, which was sustained a month ago, Drogba immediately impressed, scoring his first goal of the season in the 90th minute after an excellent pass by Malouda.
- Josh McEachran: Came on for Raul Meireles in the 83rd minute, and while he didn't really have enough time to make a large impression on the game, good for him that he got some playing time. I'm really hoping that he'll develop into a homegrown starting midfielder in a few years.

MATCH OVERVIEW:
In the first 20 minutes or so, Chelsea takes control of the game, although Swansea defend well and do not give them a chance to score. However, in the 29th minute, Juan Mata's excellent lofted pass into the box gives Torres the opportunity to chest the ball down, allow for a bounce, and then drive a hard kick into the far corner. His brilliant goal makes the score-line 1-0 in favour of Chelsea. In the 34th minute, Mata receives a yellow card. In the 36th minute, Ashley Cole makes an excellent pass across the field to Ramires, who puts it through the legs of a defender AND the screened goalkeeper to make it 2-0. Three minutes later, Fernando Torres receives a red card for his reckless, two-footed, studs-showing, tackle on Mike Gower, and Chelsea are compelled to finish the match with just 10 men. In the 59th minute, Malouda comes on for Juan Mata, who already has a yellow and is valuable enough to the team that AVB will substitute him early so that he doesn't receive another. In the 75th minute, Bosingwa plays an excellent through-pass to Ramires, who drifts through two Swansea defenders and sends Michel Vorm the wrong way with his shot. 3-0. In the 86th minute - drama with opposing Ashleys: Ashley Cole receives a yellow, and Ashley Williams, of Swansea, scores a header off of a free kick to make it 3-1. In the 90th minute, John Obi Mikel receives a yellow, and Florent Malouda sends a fine pass into the box for Drogba, who turns, beats a defender, and drives it far post to finish the game 4-1 for Chelsea.

Sorry about the quality - it's the only highlight reel I could find on Youtube.

OTHER FIXTURES:

~ Stoke City 1-1 Manchester United (first time EVER that Stoke have gotten a point against Manchester United)

~ Manchester City 2-0 Everton

~ Arsenal 3-0 Bolton

~ Liverpool 2-1 Wolverhampton

~ Newcastle 3-1 Blackburn

~ West Brom 0-0 Fulham

~ Wigan 1-2 Tottenham

UPCOMING CHELSEA GAMES:

Wednesday, September 28: @ Valencia, 2:45 PM EST

Sunday, October 2: @ Bolton, 8:30 AM EST