Chelsea beat Swansea City 1-0 in an entertaining Wednesday night Premier League clash that saw Antonio Conte sent to the stands.

 

Willian, who came off the bench to score in Chelsea's 1-1 draw with Liverpool, started ahead of Eden Hazard.

 

The Brazilian went close to picking up where he left off at Anfield in the 10th minute. However, his delightful cross from a free-kick couldn't get the touch needed to steer it home and crept wide of the far post.

 

Chelsea continued to dominate play and threatened again in the 28th minute. Cesc Fàbregas lobbed the ball into the area and Álvaro Morata struck it sweetly on the volley, forcing Lukasz Fabianski to tip it over the bar.

 

Pedro, Morata and Marcos Alonso all could  have won penalties for Chelsea in the first half, but on each occasion, the benefit of the doubt went Swansea's way. 

 

Antonio Conte's frustration boiled over in the 43rd minute when he was sent to the stands by referee Neil Swarbrick. 

 

Swarbrick had just awarded a goal-kick to Swansea after Willian's cross had deflected off Alfie Mawson and gone narrowly wide of the far post.

 

Despite that setback off the pitch, Chelsea continued to dominate on it. They were finally rewarded in the 55th minute, when N'golo Kanté's long-range shot fortuitously deflected off Wilfried Bony and into the path of Antonio Rüdiger, who nodded home for the opener.

 

Eight minutes later, Fàbregas picked out Morata from a free-kick just right of the penalty area and the striker forced a fine save from Fabianski off his header.

 

The Blues showed no sign of relenting in their quest for a second goal and Fabianski had to keep out shots from Willian and Alonso.

 

Despite Swansea's resilient defending, their attack let them down once more and they caused very few problems for the Chelsea back three. The Blues held on for a vital three points in their quest to catch runaway leaders Manchester City.