Match Report: Tinkerman Mourinho's Half Time Change Helps Chelsea Secure Victory

Heading into this meeting, these two were the only teams boasting 100% starts to the Premier League season, though it was Chelsea who extended that run at the expense of Swansea. However, it was Swansea who took the lead after just 11 minutes. The WhoScored match forecast had suggested that the visitors would 'score from a wingplay situation' and that's exactly where the opener came from, Ki Sung-Yueng picking out Neil Taylor on the left, whose low cross was inadvertently turned past Thibaut Courtois by John Terry. It was the Chelsea skipper's 2nd own goal in his last 9 league appearances.

The goal woke the hosts from their slumber as they grew into the game and deservedly drew level on the stroke of half time, with Cesc Fàbregas picking out Diego Costa from a corner. The duo combined once more 11 minutes into the second half for the Brazil-born Spain international to smash past Lukasz Fabianski from close range, before Costa netted his and Chelsea's 3rd with a little over 20 minutes to go.

Costa was replaced by Loïc Remy to a standing ovation from the fans before the Frenchman confirmed all 3 points with 10 minutes remaining, though Jonjo Shelvey was on hand to net a late consolation for the Swans. All in all, it was a very real test of Chelsea's character in their bid to land a 4th top-flight championship in 10 years, especially against an in-form Swansea side. In the eyes of many, the Swans were one of the favourites to drop into the Championship, but 3 wins from their opening 3 games silenced the critics, with manager Garry Monk duly rewarded for his efforts with the August manager of the month award.

However, Monk came up against arguably the league's best manager in José Mourinho on Saturday. The hosts always looked as though they would come back into the match as the minutes ticked by, and it was the Portuguese's half time change that gave Chelsea the edge at Stamford Bridge. André Schürrle, despite a bright start to the season, was relatively poor by his standards and was hauled off at half time for Ramires, who gave the Blues some much-needed bite in midfield to combat the threat of Ki and Shelvey.

Ramires' rating (6.85) was an improvement on Schürrle's (6.36), with the Brazilian a driving force in the middle of the park to keep the Swans on the backfoot. Ramires played 2 key passes and registered 1 assist in his 45 minutes on the pitch. In contrast, Schurrle failed to play a single key passes in the first half.

The afternoon, though, belonged to Costa. The summer arrival now has 7 goals in 4 league appearances this season, a far cry from last term when Chelsea's strikers - Samuel Eto'o, Fernando Torres and Demba Ba - bagged just 19 goals in a combined 68 appearances.

Costa's display earned him a WhoScored rating of 10.0, following on from a 9.85 against Everton last time out, and it goes without saying that Chelsea are in possession of the most prolific frontman in world football at present. However, Costa has fellow summer signing Fábregas to thank for his impressive goal return already this season. The former Arsenal and Barcelona star now has 6 assists to his name after 4 league appearances for the west London side, 3 of which have been for a Diego Costa goal, including 2 against Swansea.

The pairing have formed a ruthless partnership, despite their short time together, and while Mourinho was reluctant to discuss the individual performances of his players in his post-match press conference, the fact is that Costa and Fàbregas' relationship will be key to Chelsea's title quest this term.

All in all, it was a relatively dominant display from Chelsea, but it would not have been so had Mourinho not made the changes at the interval. Come full time the hosts had the larger share of possession (56% to 44%) than they did at half time (49% to 51%), while 18 of their 29 efforts on goal came in the second half, though credit should not be taken away from Swansea, who put in a good account of themselves at Stamford Bridge, despite the 4-2 defeat.

How big an impact do you think Mourinho had in Chelsea's weekend win over Swansea? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below