Swansea reclaimed a place among the automatic promotion contenders after delivering a 3-1 victory over a faltering Burnley side, further deepening the difficulties faced by new manager Nicky Hayen. The win lifted Vitor Matos' team level on points with West Ham at the summit of the Championship table and helped erase the memory of the 3-1 drubbing they suffered at Southampton earlier in the week. For Burnley, the defeat marked their fourth loss in seven league matches and they remain desperate for their first win of the campaign.
Both goals that Burnley allowed in the first half could have been avoided, and a sharper finish from their attackers might have at least levelled the scoreline. Hayen was able to name former Leicester and England forward Jamie Vardy in his match‑day squad for the first time after the 39‑year‑old completed a move from Serie A club Cremonese. Vardy made his debut as a 64th‑minute substitute, only to see a potential equaliser ruled out for off‑side nine minutes later when the ball found the back of the Swansea net.
Burnley began the encounter positively, with striker Zeki Amdouni creating the opening chance in the eighth minute. After beating Stephen Welsh in a contest for a ball inside the Swansea penalty area, Amdouni struck from a good angle but his effort clipped the side‑netting.
The early pressure, however, could not be sustained. Swansea broke the deadlock in the 14th minute when Adam Idah netted his third goal of the season.
Chasing a long ball through the centre, Idah held off Igor Julio, surged forward and forced Burnley keeper Max Weiss into a delayed reaction. Weiss hesitated, lost the ball under pressure from Idah and watched the striker calmly slot the ball into an empty net. The home side doubled their lead in the 33rd minute after a period of sustained pressure from Burnley. Following a series of corners, Ugo Raghouber mishandled a clearance, allowing Elijah Just to collect the ball in the centre circle.
He quickly released Moussa Yeo, who embarked on a solo run from midfield, reached the edge of the box and finished with a low drive into the bottom‑left corner – his first goal wearing a Swansea shirt. Even two goals down, Burnley continued to create chances. Aaron Ramsey unleashed a powerful shot that forced Lawrence Vigouroux into a spectacular one‑handed save, the ball ricocheting onto the crossbar.
The visitors finally pulled a goal back in the 58th minute when Largie Ramazani timed his run to beat the off‑side trap and fired a low strike into the left corner, giving the Clarets a glimmer of hope. Swansea responded swiftly, restoring a three‑goal cushion five minutes later. Marco Stamenic threaded a precise pass to Ronald, who out‑paced Lucas Pires, crossed the ball into the box and set up Zan Vipotnik for an easy tap‑in. Burnley thought they had reduced the deficit again in the 87th minute when an inswinging corner found the net, but referee James Bell intervened, spotting interference on Vigouroux and disallowing the goal.
After the match, 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's boss Nicky Hayen admitted the situation was precarious: "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."