Swansea reclaimed a spot among the automatic promotion places, dealing a further blow to newly‑appointed Burnley manager Nicky Hayen as his side slipped to the bottom of the Championship with a 3‑1 loss. The win lifted Vitor Matos' side level on points with West Ham at the summit of the table and helped erase the memory of the 3‑1 drubbing they suffered at Southampton a few days earlier.

For Burnley it marked a fourth defeat in seven league fixtures, and they are still hunting for their first victory of the campaign. Both first‑half goals conceded by Swansea were arguably preventable, and a sharper finish from the Clarets might have at least levelled the scoreline. Hayen was able to name former Leicester and England forward Jamie Vardy in his matchday squad for the first time since the 39‑year‑old’s transfer from Serie A side Cremonese.

Vardy made his debut as a 64th‑minute substitute and even found the net nine minutes later, only for the effort to be disallowed for off‑side. Burnley started the encounter brightly, with striker Zeki Amdouni creating the opening chance in the eighth minute. After winning a loose ball against Stephen Welsh in the Swansea penalty area, Amdouni struck a well‑aimed shot that rattled the side‑netting. The early pressure, however, did not translate into a goal.

Swansea drew first blood in the 14th minute when Adam Idah recorded his third league goal of the season. Chasing a long ball through the centre, Idah held off Igor Julio before advancing to challenge Burnley keeper Max Weiss just outside the penalty area.

Weiss hesitated, lost possession under pressure from Idah, and the striker calmly slotted the ball into an empty net. The situation worsened for the visitors in the 33rd minute after a sustained period of Burnley pressure.

After a sequence of corners, a defensive lapse by Ugo Raghouber allowed Elijah Just to collect the ball in the centre circle and release Moussa Yeo on a solo run from midfield. Yeo reached the edge of the box and curled a shot into the bottom‑left corner, giving him his first goal in a Swansea shirt. Despite trailing by two, Burnley continued to create chances. Aaron Ramsey forced a spectacular one‑handed save from Lawrence Vigouroux, with the shot rebounding onto the crossbar.

The Clarets pulled a goal back in the 58th minute when Largie Ramazani timed his run to beat the off‑side trap and fired a low effort into the left corner, reigniting hopes of a comeback. Swansea, however, responded swiftly. Five minutes later Marco Stamenic threaded a precise pass to Ronald, who out‑paced Lucas Pires before laying the ball across the box for Zan Vipotnik to finish with a simple tap‑in, extending the lead to 3‑1.

Burnley thought they might have a chance to equalise in the 87th minute after an inswinging corner found its way into the Swansea net, but referee James Bell ruled the effort out for interference with Vigouroux. After the final whistle, Swansea manager Vitor Matos reflected on the performance: "It was a good game for us and it was quite complete in different phases.

We had really good moments when we had the ball, important moments that gave us the initiative and control in the right positions. That allowed us to push Burnley back and deep. Nothing has changed for us. The most important thing is that we keep focusing on the process, on what we can improve, when we need to improve and then on the games.

Then the results will speak for themselves. We need to keep improving our game and individually." Burnley boss Nicky Hayen admitted the seriousness of the situation: "It's a must‑win game for us against Derby. There are no excuses, but there are clear reasons for our current situation. We're missing a lot of players and several new signings do not yet have the match fitness we need.

I mentioned a few weeks ago that we had to survive until the international break, where we can finally work properly on the training pitch. But surviving means taking points and winning games, which we haven't managed to do enough. That makes this a difficult period, but Saturday is a must‑win.

Despite the results, we are growing as a team. What we desperately need is one victory to reward the performance and rebuild confidence.

One win will change a lot for us – everyone is craving that feeling again. You can hold me accountable for not winning games, but there are also realistic factors such as injuries, lack of fitness and integrating new signings late.

I'll keep working exactly as I always do. I treat every game as if it were my last, because that keeps you sharp and injects energy into the squad and tomorrow I will put that energy back into the group." The result keeps Swansea firmly in the promotion race while Burnley remain entrenched at the foot of the table, underlining the urgency for Hayen to find a winning formula as the season progresses.