Match Report: Wigan 0 - 1 Chelsea

Very entertaining Premier League fare at the JJB Stadium this afternoon.

Hosts Wigan Athletic put in a sterling performance against TFT title favourites Chelsea, and were unlucky to fall to a second consecutive defeat.

Chelsea, for their part, were no mugs either.

The game was settled with the first meaningful kick of the afternoon. A free kick went Chelsea's way between 20 and 25 yards out. Ashley Cole and Deco stepped up to take the kick, but it was the naturalised Portuguese who pulled a bit of magic out of the bag to score an early winner in the fourth minute.

The free kick was situated out towards the right hand side of the box (as Chelsea saw it), in a position you'd expect to be ideal for Cole, the left footed candidate. As Deco ran up, one might assume - as Wigan stopper Mike Pollitt probably did - that it would simply be dinked over the wall into the same corner as the left footer would have selected.

That's a skill in itself, but Deco surprised everyone by swinging the ball back across goal into Pollitt's top right hand corner. Beautifully thought out and wonderfully executed. 1-0 Chelsea, and in truth it was the only time in the game when you would really say they were absolutely on top.

Petr Cech was called into action many times in the first half, saving well from Wilson Palacios, after the Honduran had beaten Jose Bosingwa, and several times from a tricky Amr Zaki. All this came as part of a truly blistering start at the JJB, and Wigan looked excellent.

Business as usual in the 14th minute. Emile Heskey accidentally skinned John Terry and the England skipper earned himself a yellow card with a half-cynical, half-clumsy pull on his national colleague.

Wigan had reacted brightly to the goal, but Chelsea began to take control with some tidy passing throughout defence and midfield. The next chance of note, though, fell once again to Zaki and he drove the ball straight at Cech, who did exceptionally well to parry to safety.

The Latics again had the momentum as half time approached, fighting hard and playing well and, most importantly of course, creating chances. Cech clearly felt the frustration - the Chelsea 'keeper got away with a blatant and unnecessary push on Emerson Boyce in the penalty area. Not to be outdone, Nicolas Anelka decided he'd try out some cheating of his own, getting away with a dive on the edge of the area.

It always annoys me when that happens. If it's not a penalty, the attacking player should be carded for simulation. It seems basic, to my mind.

Chelsea were ahead at half time, but Wigan had given a good account of themselves. Palacios in particular was superb, as was Blues midfielder Frank Lampard.

For most of the second period, the two sides were fairly evenly matched. Chelsea occasionally showed glimpses of the delightful two-touch football we saw against Portsmouth a week ago, but Wigan refused to give up and continued to look more productive than Phil Scolari's team.

They pressed brilliantly at the end. With 13 minutes left, some great build-up from Athletic led to a one-two between Lee Cattermole and Mario Melchiot. Cattermole was unable to keep his shot down. Ten minutes later Olivier Kapo forced a top-drawer two-handed stop from Cech with a low shot from the edge of the box. For Wigan, it was not to be.

Scolari will be delighted with a second win in two, and surprised at how hard Chelsea had to work to achieve it. Steve Bruce, the Wigan boss, will take a lot of heart from his side's good performance. But he'll be keen to get points on the board next weekend.

(Photo Credit: BBC Sport)