Laudrup: "Crazy" five minutes cost us

Michael Laudrup pointed to a "crazy" five minutes as the catalyst for Sunday's 2-0 defeat against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

The Swans defending admirably for much of the opening period, but were undone as Oscar drilled home to give the home side a 43rd minute lead.

Then just two minutes later the hosts doubled their lead as Juan Mata was bundled over by Leon Britton in the box, and Frank Lampard scored from the spot.

The Swans looked far more of a threat in the second period, but defeat means it's now just one win in six for Laudrup's side.

"For the first 40 minutes there weren't too many chances," said the Swans boss. "They (Chelsea) are a great team, with great players, but five crazy minutes changed the game.

"We came back into it during the second half and we played well until the last third - that final pass just needed that extra bit of quality.

"Sometimes that's the difference, but when you play the top teams you have to be realistic.

"But in the end the last ball is so important and it's something we have to work on in the future."

The Swans now look ahead to next Saturday's clash against Manchester City at the Liberty.

And with champions Manchester United still to play between now and the end of the season, Laudrup knows the task doesn't get any easier as Swansea look to cement their place in the top half of the table.

"We still have the top two teams to play, so it won't be easy," he said.

"It's always nice to end the season well, but the incredible thing is that we are still ninth in the table."

Meanwhile, the result means Chelsea strengthen their grip on a place in the top four of the Premier League.

Rafa Benitez's have a crunch game against Tottenham coming up, and the Chelsea boss was pleased to chalk up another three points.

"It's always nice to win," he said. "We played some very good football and I'm very pleased.

"To get three points at this stage of the season is always good, particularly in the manner in which we achieved it."