Premier League: Swansea 1 Chelsea 1

3 November 2012 18:08

Chelsea missed their chance to return to the top of the Premier League after being held to a 1-1 draw by Swansea at the Liberty Stadium.

Having struggled to create many chances against a resolute Swansea defence in the opening hour of the game it was a simple corner routine that resulted in the opening goal. Gary Cahill rose to meet Eden Hazard's right-wing corner and Victor Moses glanced the ball into the net from inside the six yard box.

The home side levelled things up with three minutes to play after an accomplished Pablo Hernandez strike from outside the penalty area which beat Petr Cech's outstretched left hand.

Despite a slow start Chelsea were never overpowered and as the half wore on they gradually started to make an impression on the game, with the half's two best chances falling to two of their key attackers.

Brazilian Oscar was the first to be gifted a chance to test Gerhard Tremmel but his 25-yard free kick struck the wall, and in the 19th minute Eden Hazard found himself in acres of space but his shot flew over the bar much to the delight of the home fans.

Hazard tested Tremmel shortly after the break but the German goalkeeper was able to hold onto the Belgian's low shot from the edge of the area.

Just after the hour mark, Chelsea's second-half pressure paid off as Moses grabbed his first goal for the club in the Premier League. Hazard delivered a corner onto the head of Cahill, whose header was glanced on by Moses and into goal.

Michael Laudrup's men worked hard in the final half-an-hour of the game and got their reward with minutes to spare as substitute Itay Shechter found Hernandez on the edge of the area, the forward making himself some space and firing past Cech from the edge of the penalty area.