Chelsea 4 Swansea 1...Torres Went From Hero To Zero

FERNANDO TORRES went from hero to zero as he saw red against Swansea. The Spanish hitman looked to have shaken off his shocking run of form at Manchester United last weekend. And when he hit the back of the net for the second time in two matches, Chelsea fans must have been rejoicing. But after Ramires had doubled the lead, Torres lunged in on Mark Gower and was instantly dismissed by referee Mike Dean. The Blues were fortunate that it did not affect the result with Brazilian midfielder Ramires grabbing his second. Swansea did grab a consolation in the 86th minute through Ashley Williams but Didier Drogba netted a late fourth in added time. Stamford Bridge boss Andre Villas-Boas left Frank Lampard on the bench, preferring to play John Obi Mikel in midfield. Nicolas Anelka also started ahead of Daniel Sturridge with Torres selected instead of Drogba, who had recovered from concussion. Swansea named an unchanged line-up and dominated possession in the opening 15 minutes, without really troubling their hosts. At the other end, Raul Meireles had a claim for a penalty waved away before he fired a volley over. Ramires had a close-range shot blocked but Chelsea were hardly hitting the high expectations of their manager. But that changed in the 29th minute when Juan Mata chipped over the top to Torres, who swiveled and found the bottom corner. Swansea had been well-drilled until that point and, moments later, their offside trap just caught out Mata, who failed to finish anyway. The winger was then needlessly booked for hauling back Rangel, with Williams close to converting the resultant free-kick. But Chelsea's scintillating football finally arrived nine minutes from half-time. A sweeping breakaway saw Ashley Cole pick out Ramires, who drilled the ball through Swans keeper Michael Vorm's legs. But the Blues were down to 10 men when Torres undid all his good work when he was sent off three minutes later. He dived in with both feet off the ground on Gower and Dean had no choice but to show red for the studs-first challenge. Swansea boss Brendan Rodgers threw on Wayne Routledge for Leon Britton during the interval. And the visitors laid siege to the Chelsea goal after the restart. Meireles almost slid the ball into his own net, Nathan Dyer's shot deflected off Mikel onto the bar and Ashley Williams misdirected a header from a corner. But Chelsea were always a threat on the break and Ramires volleyed wide before Mata was withdrawn for Florent Malouda. Danny Graham came on for Leroy Lita just before the hour mark. Anelka, now playing in a central role in the absence of Torres, sprinted 25 yards before unleashing a piledriver against the bar. And with 15 minutes left on the clock, any faint hope of Swans comeback was over when Ramires burst forward into the box and slot home. With a three-goal cushion, Villas-Boas gave Drogba a run-out in place of Anelka. Williams' simple header from a free-kick gave the Swans fans something to cheer about. But it was nothing more than a consolation as the Blues cruised to victory to keep up their incredible run of 63 matches unbeaten against promoted teams as Drogba hammered in the fourth. Chelsea: Cech, Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Terry, Cole, Mikel, Mata (Malouda 59), Meireles (McEachran 83), Ramires, Torres, Anelka (Drogba 79). Subs Not Used: Turnbull, Luiz, Lampard, Kalou. Sent Off: Torres (39). Booked: Mata, Cole, Mikel. Goals: Torres 29, Ramires 36, 76, Drogba 90. Swansea: Vorm, Rangel, Monk, Williams, Taylor, Britton (Routledge 46), Gower, Allen, Dyer (Dobbie 71), Lita (Graham 59), Sinclair. Subs Not Used: Tremmel, Moore, Bessone, Richards. Booked: Dyer, Monk, Taylor. Goals: Williams 86. Att: 41,800 Ref: Mike Dean (Wirral).