The impressive start for Chelsea this season carries on, coming back from an early John Terry goal to win 4-2 against Swansea, mostly thanks to a hat trick by Diego Costa. Barcelona are also perfect in the Spanish La Liga, pulling off a 2-0 win over Athletic Bilbao, as Lionel Messi set up Neymar for two late and clinching goals.
Chelsea met the only other perfect teams in the Premier League, and for a few moments it seemed like they’ve finally met their match this season. John Terry scored an own goal and Swansea held on through the first half without conceding, until a Cesc Fabregas corner kick met Costa, scoring for his fourth consecutive match since joining Chelsea.
The Diego Costa show carried on in the second half. Nothing fancy, but perfect positioning for two more goals (including another assist for Fabregas), before Loic Remy came on off the bench to score his first goal for his new team. Jonjo Shelvey scored a late goal to make the result look a bit more respectable in injury time.
Things went a lot less smoothly for Barcelona, not playing very well at home against Bilbao, another Spanish team we’ll see in the Champions League this season. Lionel Messi started with Sandro and Munir El Haddadi on his sides, and struggled to make the trio work.
Bilbao weren’t too dangerous, having only two shots at goal for the entire match, but enjoyed a brilliant day at goal from Gorka Iraizoz, denying most of Barcelona’s attempts while the rest of the player frustrated the league leader players.
In the end, talent trumps most obstacles. Twice it was Lionel Messi with the set up for Neymar, who came off the bench instead of Munir El Haddadi to give Barcelona a hard earned win against a very difficult opponent. Things aren’t even close to running smooth for them, but the talent that’s there makes up for problems that usually need time and patience.