Swansea City stayed second in the Championship with a commanding 4-0 home victory over Blackburn Rovers on Saturday, responding emphatically to the previous weekend's 5-0 thrashing at Queens Park Rangers.
Goals from Stephen Eustaquio, Joseph Opoku, Filip Lissah and Ross Stewart, his first for the club, gave Swansea a resounding home win over Blackburn Rovers. The first half alone yielded three goals and 20 touches in the opposition box, while Blackburn managed only one shot, high and wide from captain Todd Cantwell.
The result inflicted Blackburn's heaviest league defeat since April 2024, when they lost 5-0 at Bristol City. Swansea head coach Vitor Matos said he was more pleased with the performance than the result. "It was a really good response and it was a good game. It was the way we did it, especially in the first half, when we showed desire, concentration, quality and belief," Matos said. "We were not the worst team in the world last weekend, and we are not the best team now, but somehow we are improving and we will keep on improving."
Blackburn manager Tony Mowbray made two changes at half-time to try to break Swansea's stranglehold on possession, and the changes worked for 10 minutes before Swansea carved out the opening for Stewart to add the fourth. Mowbray said he had prepared his team for a high-pressing opponent but they failed to execute the plan. "We got it wrong and suffered for it against a very good team. My frustration comes from preparing for a week to play the number one team in the league for high pressing and then not carrying out what we'd worked on," Mowbray said. "We shouldn't have been trying to play nice football around our box against a high press team. Maybe my messages to the players weren't strong enough."
Mowbray said his side would “take it on the chin” and move on, with two home games coming up this week.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- Swansea maintain their automatic promotion push, staying second in the Championship table.
- The result shows the team's resilience after a heavy defeat, with a dominant performance against a side that had been in good form.
- Blackburn's heaviest league loss in over two years raises questions about their consistency and ability to handle top-tier Championship opposition.
Background
Swansea City suffered a 5-0 defeat at Queens Park Rangers on 24 October, their worst loss of the season. Blackburn Rovers came into the match on a decent run but had not lost by a four-goal margin in the league since April 2024. Saturday's game was played at the Swansea.com Stadium in front of a home crowd.
Key Perspectives
Vitor Matos, Swansea head coach: Praised his side's response, saying the first half showed "desire, concentration, quality and belief" and that the performance was more important than the result.
Tony Mowbray, Blackburn manager: Took responsibility for the defeat, saying his preparations and messages may not have been strong enough and that his team tried to play through a high press when they should have been more direct.
What to Watch
- Blackburn have two home games this week and Mowbray said they could aim for six points.
- Swansea will look to extend their winning run and keep pressure on the league leaders.
- Both sides will need to address defensive vulnerabilities: Swansea after last week's 5-0, Blackburn after shipping four goals.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 11 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedMatos said, “It was a really good response and it was a good game. It was the way we did it, especially in the first half, when we showed desire, concentration, quality and belief.”Nation.Cymru: ““It was a really good response and it was a good game. It was the way we did it, especially in the first half, when we showed desire, concentration, quality and belief,” said Matos.”
- SupportedMowbray said, “We got it wrong and suffered for it against a very good team,” and described his frustration over his team not carrying out the plan.Nation.Cymru: ““We got it wrong and suffered for it against a very good team. My frustration comes from preparing for a week to play the number one team in the league for high pressing and then not carrying out what we’d worked on,” said Mowbray.”
- SupportedMatos said, “We were not the worst team in the world last weekend, and we are not the best team now, but somehow we are improving and we will keep on improving.”Nation.Cymru: ““So that was really good. We were not the worst team in the world last weekend, and we are not the best team now, but somehow we are improving and we will keep on improving.””
- SupportedMowbray said, “We shouldn’t have been trying to play nice football around our box against a high press team. Maybe my messages to the players weren’t strong enough.”Nation.Cymru: ““We shouldn’t have been trying to play nice football around our box against a high press team. Maybe my messages to the players weren’t strong enough.””
- SupportedMowbray said his side would “take it on the chin” and move on.Nation.Cymru: ““We’ve been playing well and we thought we could play through and round them, but there were too many individual errors. We’ll just have to take it on the chin and move on.””
- SupportedSwansea beat Blackburn 4-0 at home.Nation.Cymru: “Vitor Matos applauded Swansea’s performance as they responded to last weekend’s hammering at QPR with a resounding 4-0 home win over Blackburn.”
- Not in the sourcesThe match was on Saturday.Nation.Cymru: “Vitor Matos applauded Swansea’s performance as they responded to last weekend’s hammering at QPR with a resounding 4-0 home win over Blackburn.”
- SupportedSwansea stayed second in the Championship.Nation.Cymru: “It was a victory that enabled Swansea to stay in second place in the Championship”
- SupportedSwansea’s win followed a 5-0 defeat at QPR the previous weekend.Nation.Cymru: “The reaction their Portuguese boss wanted from the 5-0 humbling at Loftus Road was delivered in spades by his players”
- SupportedBlackburn had only one shot in the first half, high and wide from Todd Cantwell.Nation.Cymru: “Rovers’ only shot of the first half came in the 26th minute when skipper Todd Cantwell blasted high over the bar after beating the offside trap.”
- SupportedThe result was Blackburn’s heaviest league defeat since their 5-0 loss at Bristol City in April 2024.Nation.Cymru: “It was a victory that enabled Swansea to stay in second place in the Championship as they inflicted the worst league defeat on Rovers since April 10, 2024, when they lost 5-0 at Bristol City.”
- SupportedMatos said he was more pleased with Swansea’s performance than the result.Nation.Cymru: ““For me, it was really about the performance more than the result – that’s what I’m really pleased about and the way we did it.””