Chelsea travelled to Swansea City on Sunday afternoon knowing that Liverpool had pulled five points clear of them at the top of the Premier League.
Victory was essential for the Blues and they did manage to squeeze past the Swans, who played over 75 minutes with 10 men, thanks to Demba Ba's second-half strike.
Read how it all unfolded at the Liberty Stadium in our minute-by-minute updates below.
3.01pmAfternoon folks! The second Premier League game of the day takes place at the Liberty Stadium as struggling Swansea take on Chelsea.
3.03pmThe game everyone's talking about at the moment is going on at Anfield. Chelsea's two rivals for the title - Liverpool and Man City - are midway through the second half and it's locked at 2-2. Open this link in a new tab to follow the rest on SM.
3.05pmLiverpool were scintillating in the first half but a David Silva-inspired Manchester City have pegged it back. A draw would be a great result for Chelsea!
3.07pmThis is how the Premier League table stands right now. If it finishes all square at Anfield, Chelsea can go level on points with league leaders Liverpool with victory today. They won't go top though as their goal difference is worse. (Unless they win by 10 goals)
3.09pmBREAKING TEAM NEWS! No Michu for Swansea today, while we're still waiting for news of the Chelsea lineup.
3.11pmSWANSEA XI: Vorm; Rangel, Chico, Williams, Davies; Britton, Shelvey; Dyer, Hernandez, Routledge; Bony
3.12pmSWANSEA SUBS: Tremmel, Amat, Taylor, Fulton, De Guzman, Emnes, Ngog
3.14pmIt's two changes for Swansea from last week's defeat at Hull City, with Michu and Jonathan De Guzman out and Nathan Dyer and Pablo Hernandez in. The Chelsea side is in...
3.16pmCHELSEA XI: Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta; Ramires, Matic; Salah, Willian, Schurrle; Ba
3.17pmCHELSEA SUBS: Schwarzer, Cole, David Luiz, Mikel, Oscar, Torres, Eto'o
3.20pmFor Chelsea, it's also two changes from their last league game against Stoke. Frank Lampard is out altogether while Fernando Torres drops to the bench. Ramires and Demba Ba come in.
3.21pmBack to Anfield, where Liverpool have retaken the lead against City thanks to a goal from Coutinho. Just five minutes of normal time left here.
3.23pmJust in case you didn't know, today's game and every other English league and cup match this weekend is kicking off seven minutes later than scheduled in remembrance of the 25th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster.
3.26pmAlso kicking off at 4.07pm is the FA Cup semi-final between Hull City and Sheffield United at Wembley. If you want to follow that game, open this link in a new tab.
3.30pmUPDATE: It's all over at Anfield and Liverpool have beaten Manchester City 3-2 to extend their lead at the top of the table to five points. Here's our instant match report.
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© AFP3.33pmRight, enough of that. Let's fully focus on the feature match here between Swansea and Chelsea.
3.35pmREFEREE WATCH: The man with the whistle today is Phil Dowd, whose last matches refereeing these sides were both defeats to Man City earlier this year.
3.40pmThe reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge was on Boxing Day, when Eden Hazard scored the only goal of the game just before the half-hour mark.
© Getty Images
© Getty Images3.44pmWill Chelsea be tired today? They come into today's match after putting everything into beating Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Tuesday night. The Swans, meanwhile, have had eight days' rest.
3.47pmDemba Ba scored the all-important late winner at Stamford Bridge five days ago and he is rewarded with a start today. If things don't work out for the Senegalese, then Jose Mourinho has the likes of Samuel Eto'o and Fernando Torres on the bench.
3.51pmAs for Swansea, wins yesterday for Fulham, Cardiff City and a point for West Brom mean that Garry Monk's side are now just three points above the bottom three. One thing going for the Swans is their superior goal difference to everyone else in trouble.
3.57pmPREDICTION TIME! Just 10 minutes separates us from kickoff in South Wales, so it's time for my pre-game prediction.
Chelsea will know what's at stake after seeing the result from Anfield and it's hard to look past them today. I fancy Swansea to give them a good game, but ultimately fall short. 1-2.
Chelsea will know what's at stake after seeing the result from Anfield and it's hard to look past them today. I fancy Swansea to give them a good game, but ultimately fall short. 1-2.
4.01pmHere come the teams into the tunnel. Not long until kickoff in sun-soaked Swansea.
4.04pm
The teams are out on the pitch. Kick-off shortly. #CFC pic.twitter.com/ZxLyLlDNBK
— Chelsea FC (@chelseafc) April 13, 2014
4.07pmAn well-observed minute's silence in remembrance of those who lost their lives at Hillsborough. Kickoff seconds away...
1 minKICKOFF! The home side get us underway.
3 minNervy moment at the back from Matic as he hesitates when under pressure from two white shirts. Luckily, the Swans can't get ahold of the ball and Cech hoofs clear.
4 minFirst shot of the game comes from Hernandez. The Spaniard shoots low from 20 yards but it's not got enough power to worry Cech, who holds easily low to his right.
6 minOFF THE POST! Best chance of the game by a mile as Ivanovic exchanges passes with Schurrle down the right before crossing low into the middle. Salah is the one arriving and he should score, but can only slide his low shot against the outside of the post.
10 minSwansea penetrate the Blues' backline for the first time as Shelvey gets in down the left. Bony is the only man in the middle and the Ivorian striker pulls away towards the penalty spot and Shelvey plays it across the six-yard area.
13 minSwansea have been on top since Salah sidefooted against the post. They've just had a corner but it was easily claimed by Cech.
13 minSAVE! That's the closest Swansea have came. Rangel curled over a cross from the right and Bony met it powerfully but couldn't beat Cech at the near post.
15 minBOOKING! The first yellow card of the game is shown to Chico, who cynically brought down Willian. I didn't recognise Chico, who's lost the pony tail and is sporting a new hairstyle.
17 minOFF! CHICO SENT OFF FOR SWANSEA!
17 minGoodness me, Chico picks up two yellow cards in two minutes and is dismissed by Dowd. After bringing down Willian a moment ago, the Spaniard then tripped up Schurrle on the edge of the box. Have Swansea got any chance from here?
19 minSWANSEA SUB: Monk is forced into an early change to shore up the defence. Pablo Hernandez is the one sacrificed as Jordi Amat comes on.
20 min
Chico Flores: Has received more red cards (3) than he has scored goals (2) in the last two Premier League seasons
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) April 13, 2014
22 minWillian tries his luck from range but can't test Vorm, who is yet to make a save, as the ball rolls harmlessly wide.
25 minNext to have a pop for the Blues is Matic, who is given loads of room from 20 yards but can only whack it against the nearest defender.
28 minDespite being down to 10 men, Swansea have actually had more possession with 58% of the ball early on. They've had two shots and two on target. Much better than Chelsea's seven and none on target.
30 min
11 - Chelsea have won 11 and drawn one of their last 12 Premier League games played on a Sunday, winning their last nine in a row. Bonny.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 13, 2014
33 minIf you'd only just switched this game on in the last 10 minutes, you wouldn't have a clue that Swansea were down to 10 men unless you counted each player and only got to 21. They're doing really well.
36 minWillian slips the ball into Salah down the inside-right channel but the January signing can't pick out a teammate in the middle as his cross goes over everyone.
36 minMore neat work from the visitors down the right as this time Willian plays a one-two with Ba before fizzing low into the box where both Ba and Schurrle fail to make good contact.
37 minChelsea now seeing plenty of the ball in the final third and they appeal for a penalty as John Terry, forward for a corner, tangles legs with Amat but Dowd isn't interested.
40 minSwansea can't make mistakes and if they concede from this corner they'll kick themselves. Vorm and Williams the culprits for that miscommunication.
41 minCHANCE! Chelsea almost do go in front from the set piece as Willian's outswinger is met by Ivanovic, but he can only head over the top.
43 minEnd-to-end stuff at the Liberty as first Ramires's cross from inside the area goes across the face of goal before Swansea go down the other end and test Cech again through Dyer, whose shot from 20 yards is comfortably beaten out by the Czech stopper.
45 minBOOKING! The first Chelsea man in the book is Schurrle, who went in late on Rangel.
45+1 minTwo minutes have been added on at the end of the first half.
45+2 minCHANCE! Great opportunity for Chelsea to snatch the lead just before the break as Salah collects the ball after a bit of a melee on the edge of the Swansea box. The Swiss wastes his second clear opening of the half by blasting this one high and wide.
45+3 minHALF-TIME: SWANSEA 0-0 CHELSEA
4.58pmIt's as you were at the break then, with Swansea doing really well to not get overawed after that early red card for defender Chico.
5.01pmIf you're only just joining us and want a quick recap of the first 45, check out our half-time report here.
5.04pmSTAT! Chelsea had 11 efforts on goal in that first half, but didn't get a single one on target. Swansea, meanwhile, tested Cech with four of their five. The Swans also finished the first half with 51% possession. Impressive from Monk's men.
5.08pmLooks like Chelsea are making two changes at half time, with Oscar and Samuel Eto'o stripped and ready to enter.
5.10pmCHELSEA SUBS: Schurrle and Ramires are the two to come off.
46 minKICKOFF! We're back underway at the Liberty. Can Swansea continue to frustrate the Blues or will the visitors' numerical advantage and quality eventually tell?
49 minHere's a shot from Getty Images of Dowd asking Chico to leave the field in the first half:
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© AFP51 minSwansea's fans haven't stopped singing since the second half started but they're almost groaning as a loose ball in the area just evades Eto'o.
5.19pmUPDATE: At Wembley, Hull have just gone 3-2 up on Sheffield United in the FA Cup semi-finals. Follow the rest.
55 minCHANCE! Salah feeds the ball to the overlapping Azpilicueta and his cross into the middle is perfect for Willian, who makes a mess of his header by not making enough contact to divert it goalwards.
56 minMISS! All Chelsea at the moment as Ba somehow heads wide at the near post from Ivanovic's vicious cross.
58 minMISS! If Ba's header was bad, this miss from Eto'o was simply awful. The ball drops perfectly for the Cameroonian 10 yards out but he panics and swipes it wide. Is it going to be one of those days for Chelsea?
60 minSwansea haven't been out of their half for a good few minutes now and next to go close is Ba, whose shot on the turn from a corner is straight at Vorm.
60 minCLOSE! The Swans finally do something at the other end as Routledge's pace takes him past a couple of Chelsea players before his shot towards the far corner is deflected wide by Terry's sliding tackle.
61 minFrom the resulting corner, Bony knows absolutely nothing about it as the ball grazes his face and bobbles just wide.
64 minChelsea look hopefully to Dowd as Oscar tumbles under the challenge of Shelvey and Williams. Dowd does raise his hand, but only signals for a corner.
67 minNeat work from Swansea down the left-hand side as Davies advances and dinks to the back post, but Bony had gone near.
68 minGOAL! SWANSEA 0-1 CHELSEA (BA)
68 minIt's just Chelsea's second shot on target as they take the lead. Matic played a long ball up to Ba, who had Williams to contend with but earned a yard of space before shooting low at goal. Vorm should make the save, but lets the ball under his body.
70 minEden's happy:
Dembbaaaaaaa baaaaaaaaa❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
— Eden hazard (@hazardeden10) April 13, 2014
73 minSWANSEA SUB: A second change for the hosts, who had to make an early sub because of the red card. David Ngog is on for Dyer.
75 minSo, as things stand, Chelsea are going to move two points behind Liverpool, who they play at Anfield in exactly two weeks. What a game that will be!
79 minSHOT! Ba looks to double his and Chelsea's tally with a snapshot from 20 yards that zips a good yard over the top.
80 minCHELSEA SUB: That will be Ba's last action as he is taken off by Mourinho, with anchor man John Obi Mikel on in his place to steady the midfield.
80 min"Boring, boring Chelsea!" chant the Swansea fans after that change. Chelsea's support responds with "Jose Mourinho, Jose Mourinhooooo!"
83 minSwansea give the ball away in the middle and Oscar has the chance to break on goal, but he decides not to shoot, setting up Eto'o, whose shot is blocked.
85 minCLOSE! Eto'o goes closer this time, shooting first-time from Salah's cutback but failing to hit the target.
86 minSWANSEA SUB: Third and final change for the hosts as De Guzman is brought on for Britton. The Dutchman's set-piece ability might be of use in these late stages.
87 minSuperb individual run from Salah but he gets a little greedy at the end and shoots instead of feeding Willian.
89 minSwansea threaten down one end but then are caught on the counter-attack down the other. It's Salah on the ball and he feeds Eto'o in acres of space to his left. Amazingly, the Cameroonian is stood offside. How amateur.
90+1 minFOUR minutes of added time for Swansea to steal a point.
90+2 minCHANCES! Chelsea should be home and dry but Eto'o first fails to controls Salah's cutback before then hitting it straight at the defender on the line from a tight angle after getting to the ball before Vorm.
90+5 minFULL-TIME: SWANSEA 0-1 CHELSEA
6.02pmA typical Mourinho performance from Chelsea as they edge past their opponents by a single goal to nil. They close the gap to Liverpool as Swansea remain just three points above the relegation zone.
6.06pmIn the game at Wembley, Hull came out on top of an eight-goal thriller against Sheffield United 5-3. Read about it here.
6.09pmThat's all we've got time for on this commentary. Thanks for joining us on SM for a thrilling day of football. Good evening!
