Antonio Conte offered his compatriot and opposite number, Francesco Guidolin, a respectful pat on the arm at the final whistle but it was the scowl on the Chelsea manager’s face which betrayed his true feelings. His team have shed the first points of his tenure – wastefully, given their dominance for an hour in south Wales – to let a gap open up to Manchester City at the top. That could widen to a chasm in the months ahead if the worrying blend of profligacy and defensive fragility shown here is maintained.
This was one of those madcap occasions on which the Premier League so prides itself, a mismatch turned improbable yet ferocious end-to-end frenzy, but it was not a game Conte enjoyed. How could he when his team missed an opportunity to rattle up a cricket score before the break and then, unnerved by the belated injection of pace into Swansea City ranks, panicked to permit the hosts a route back into the match? His captain, John Terry, left the ground on crutches after pulling up in stoppage time with an ankle problem, rendering him a doubt for Friday’s awkward test against Liverpool, while the manager found the focus drawn back to the division’s pantomime villain of the moment, Diego Costa, yet again.
The Spain international’s goals preserved a point for Chelsea, his second coming courtesy of an overhead kick after Branislav Ivanovic’s attempt had looped up from Jordi Amat’s heel. The effort cannoned in off Federico Fernández to leave the locals spitting that Costa, of all people, should deny them an improbable win. They had railed up to then at his perceived eagerness to crumple dramatically to the turf, for all that Andre Marriner felt compelled to book a trio of home players for fouling the striker from behind.
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