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Paul Clement Says Swansea 'Did Okay' at Frustrating Chelsea During Slender Mid-Week Defeat

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Swansea boss Paul Clement tried to look at the bright side of his men's 1-0 loss against Chelsea on Wednesday night. 

The Welsh side played poorly for most of the game and remain dangerously close to relegation after suffering nine defeats in 14 Premier League fixtures this season. 

However, despite the disappointing performance, the Swans managed to prevent Chelsea from scoring several times, as only one of their multiple attempts turned out to be successful.

Facing the media in the aftermath of the match, the Englishman commented: "We did okay tonight, we frustrated Chelsea with how we set up. You have to defend solidly through the middle, we dealt with it pretty well. 

"We allowed them to go wide, which they did. But most disappointing is the nature of the goal, we were not ready. Players had backs turned, not in right position. They had slight fortune but once that shot was hit and deflect it was tough to stop.”

He continued: "We kept going and at 1-0 we were always in the game. We kept going, they got edgy, we did not create anything clear cut but the players felt they could create something. On another night with a bit more quality we might have got something.”

Loanee Renato Sanches was one of the most criticised players of the night as he often inattentively gave the ball away in Swansea's defensive area, unleashing just another attacking attempt for Chelsea. 

Clement was well aware of the Portuguese's mistakes and providentially took him off during the half-time break. He said about him: "It has been a concern for a while, seven goals in 14 games is going to make things very tough. 

"Sanches was not injured, he had a poor half. I feel for him, he is a talented player but he has not showed the talent he has. If you go from Benfica to Bayern and win Euro 2016, you are a good player. 

"But he is struggling for confidence and form. We believe we are right environment to help him find that and we hope he can take the steps needed."

He ended: "He has to start with the basics, getting the simple things right. He is trying difficult things, but today he misplaced simple passes. His confidence is low, he wants it badly, he is working and working but it is not happening in games for him at the moment.”