The Swans fell to their heaviest home Premier League defeat as they were torn apart inside thirty five minutes at the Liberty this afternoon by the league leaders who were probably primed to expect a more difficult afternoon than they were given.
That level of difficulty reduced quite often by the Swans gifting Chelsea possession as often as we possibly could have done and the final scoreline of 5-0 was more flattering to us than it was to them.
Two goals each from Diego Costa and Oscar in the first half was added to in the second half by an Andre Schurle goal which completed the rout on an afternoon where the performance was simply just not good enough.
People can accept a defeat when it is a contested defeat but we rolled over in the first half giving Chelsea all the space that they needed and there almost appeared to be a distinct lack of effort at times from the players which is just not an acceptable trait for anyone wearing the shirt to display.
The first goal came within sixty seconds from us giving the ball away cheaply and the third came from Fernandez not even looking before making a backpass to Fabianski which I think surprised Costa as much as anyone and he took advantage of it immediately.
When you are playing the top teams then you have to be at the top of your game and we simply weren't from that first minute and it was depressing to watch at times when we are letting Chelsea come forward and we have our back to play giving them even more space than they actually deserved or probably indeed needed.
The team selection also seemed to be wrong when you consider Gylfi Sigurdsson was playing a defensive role in midfield which was always likely to be a recipe for disaster against a midfield that included Fabregas, Hazard and Oscar and so it proved.
We could offer nothing going forward although Gylfi did hit the corner of post and bar shortly after the first goal and if today did not convince Garry Monk that Barrow, Emnes and Montero when fit are his wide men then nothing will. It is difficult here to avoid criticism of either Dyer or Routledge for their displays in the game
To a man today we were not good enough and got what we deserved. Make no mistake though Chelsea were a good team and their second goal was well crafted but helped again by our static defence and I guess the plus point was they pretty much declared at half time with their four goal advantage but still managed to add one more to it.
I think the less we dwell on the defeat the better but it highlights further the need for strengthening in the window because with a couple of injuries or suspensions we start to look a little light and at this level, results like today happen when you are light.