Chelsea vs Swansea player ratings: Thibaut Courtois to blame for Blues draw?

Who was the star man at Stamford Bridge?

Vaishali Bhardwaj
Saturday 08 August 2015 14:47 EDT
Comments
(Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Defending Premier League champions Chelsea were held to a draw by Swansea on the first day of the new season after goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was sent off.

The Blues started brightly and were in front throgh Oscar after 23 minutes, the Brazilian's whipped free-kick flying into the far corner without anyone touch it.

Swansea were soon level, however, with new signing Andre Ayew scoring a debut goal; the former Marseille forward showing persistence and a lovely touch to finish as Chelsea scrambled to clear.

The lead lasted just a minute when Willian burst into the box - his cross took a huge deflection off of Swansea defender Federico Fernandez and goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski could only watch as it nestled in the corner.

Swansea continued to attack and got their reward when Bafetimbi Gomis was brought down by Thibaut Courtois after latching on to a ball over the top.

Gomis was judged to have been brought down inside the area - the right call despite Chelsea protests - and after a short delay got up to convert the penalty and draw Swansea level.

Both sides tried to push for a winner but neither fully committed and eventually settled for a point in an entertaining game.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in