Toothless Rams are sunk by Bessone's late winner
The Rams had been mauled by Cardiff City on their previous trip to South Wales and had no intention of leaving themselves open again.
Nigel Clough went in with five midfielders but his team's determination to keep Swansea at bay resulted in a toothless display going forward.
They were totally anonymous as an attacking force.
They did not have a shot on target and, therefore, home goalkeeper Dorus de Vries did not get his gloves dirty.
So when Federico Bessone gave Swansea a 1-0 victory with a late and very much deserved winner, there was no way back for Derby.
They had not looked like scoring in the previous 80 minutes, so there was little chance of it happening in the closing stages.
Derby's away record remains woeful and comfortably the worst in the division.
Only two points from 27 on the road means the importance of what they do at Pride Park Stadium cannot be overstated.
Back-to-back home games await and the need for points can be seen by taking a glance at the table.
Paul Green and Rob Hulse were both fit to start against Swansea but Stephen Pearson, who travelled with the squad, missed out with a groin problem.
Jake Livermore impressed in the friendly against ADO Den Haag in the international break and came in for Pearson.
Bryan Hughes also started as the Rams went for numbers across midfield and Paul Dickov dropped to the bench to leave Rob Hulse as the lone striker.
Miles Addison had been suffering from a bug but was among the substitutes, as was Lee Hendrie, whose wife gave birth to a baby boy on Thursday.
Green had the task of supporting Hulse whenever possible but Swansea had the better of the opening 20 minutes, perhaps not surprising given the confidence an unbeaten run of 10 matches gives a team.
Confidence is a key factor. Swansea's is brimming over, while Derby are floundering away from home.
Swansea went close after eight minutes, when Nathan Dyer latched on to a poor back pass from Gary Teale. The pacy wide man took the ball beyond Stephen Bywater but his effort, from a tight angle, struck the outside of a post.
Important defensive interceptions by Shaun Barker and Hulse, back helping his defence, kept the home side at bay before Bywater plunged to his left to turn Craig Beattie's shot behind.
Cedric van der Gun then cut inside and his right-foot shot flashed just wide as Derby hung on to stay level.
Paulo Sousa has fine-tuned rather than changed Swansea since taking over from Roberto Martinez.
Their football remains neat but also contains purpose, although they do not find goals easy to come by.
Bywater had to be on his toes to sweep up behind his back four as Swansea looked to thread clever passes in and behind defenders and skipper Robbie Savage did well to track Darren Pratley's surge into the area and win a goal kick.
Pratley's willingness to run from midfield is a key cog in the Swansea wheel but Savage did his homework on that occasion.
Swansea continued to pin Derby back.
They forced four corners in the closing minutes of the first half and the Rams deserved credit for the way they dug in and stood firm in the face of increasing pressure.
When the fourth of the corners broke to the edge of the box, the crowd sensed a last chance to see their team take the lead at the interval but Andrea Orlandi dragged his shot well wide.
Derby rode their luck three times in the opening 15 minutes of the second half as Swansea searched for a breakthrough.
Twice Dyer was afforded too much space in a gap between Dean Moxey and Teale and he whipped in testing low centres.
The first just avoided Orlandi and the second saw Bywater dive low to his right to collect.
Pratley's inswinging corner to the near post almost caught out the Rams. Livermore left it, which seemed to catch Bywater by surprise, and he was relieved to see the ball clip the outside of a post and go behind.
Fredrik Stoor was booked for a foul on Bessone as he looked to raid down the left. Stoor, probably because he was on a booking, was replaced by Paul Connolly but Derby's failure to make an impression in the final third continued.
Hulse had a tough task up against centre-backs Ashley Williams and Alan Tate and the glaring shortage of pace in the team was evident. Derby rarely got in behind the Swansea back line.
Livermore wasted a couple of opportunities to deliver from the right, then Teale over-hit a centre from the left with team-mates waiting in the box.
Swansea, meanwhile, kept probing.
They use the full width of the pitch in order to try to pull opponents around and create an opening and there was plenty of movement from the players in white.
When they did find some space, Bywater made a fine save from Craig Beattie's crisp low shot.
It was a case of all Derby hands to the pump again.
Jay McEveley, wearing a mask to protect his cheekbone injury, came on to help down the left side before Savage got back to deny Dyer and Bywater parried a drive from Pratley.
Derby's shape and discipline, commendable as it was, was stretched to breaking point time and again.
And their resistance was finally broke after 81 minutes.
Derby had given the ball away too cheaply all evening and did so one more time.
Substitute Joe Allen took full advantage to find Bessone on the left and the Argentinian, a free transfer from Espanyol, lashed in a shot from an angle.
The ball grazed the near post and nestled in the far top corner to give Bessone his first goal for the club.
Sousa celebrated on the pitch and again at the end of the game.
It was a big win for his team and they climbed to third – their highest position since relegation from the top flight in 1983.
Swansea are in a rich vein of form. They were the better side and worthy winners. There can be absolutely no complaints about the result.
Derby keep taking one step forward and two back.
They do not possess the confidence or the quality at the moment to take the game to opponents on the road.
They cannot be expansive in their approach, so have to try to scrap for points.
They have been unlucky in some away games, Crystal Palace and Ipswich to name two, but apart from a brave rearguard battle there was nothing else to cheer for the 400 or so Rams fans who made the long trip.
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