Wigan v Chelsea; Barclays English Premier League; August 24, 2008
A match that most thought would be won handedly by Chelsea, could not have favoured Wigan more. Although going down 1-0 early in the 3rd minute with a delightful Deco free kick, Wigan fought on causing problems for Chelsea. Petr Cech was the busier of the two goalkeepers for the first half as Wigan had spells of possession in the Blues’ end and the defending side was having trouble clearing. After almost 10 minutes of possession dominated by Wigan, Chelsea finally carved out another chance.
The Blues’ won a corner, an in-swinger taken by Lampard, and Carvalho headed over from close range. The corner marked the beginning of the Blues’ turn to surge forward but their attempts bore no fruit and the passing at times was dismal.
Once Wigan regained their offensive footing, they charged forward and forced Cech to make a decent save off of a low Zaki drive. Chelsea cleared the rebound and breathed a collective sigh of relief. Anelka and Joe Cole came close to linking up in the box via a through pass shortly thereafter but the chance was snuffed out.
Five minutes from half, Anelka nodded an Ashley Cole free kick wide. Chelsea continued to push forward until the half time whistle but their attempts were in vain as it would remain 1-0 in their favour at half. Wigan was looking like a decent challenger at this point, producing better chances from the Blues’, who were lucky to have Petr Cech playing his “A” game as so often is the case.
The first substitution of the match came at halftime with Daniel De Ridder replacing Jason Koumas for Wigan, Koumas being forced off due to an injury just before the end of the first half.
The second half started with little excitement from either team, the first noteworthy event of the second half was Cattermole’s booking for sliding in late on Michael Essien in the 48th minute. After the free kick from the ensuing foul, Chelsea poured forward but could not cut out any chances courtesy of some stout Wigan defending. Wigan were shutting Chelsea down in the final third of the field and the defense was not looking overly troubled; usually quick to intercept passes.
The first Chelsea substitution happened in the 57th minute with Joe Cole being replaced by Salomon Kalou. It should be noted that although Joe Cole was having an average day at best, Kalou left much to be desired. After returning from the Olympics it may take him some time to readjust to football the Chelsea way.
Post-substitution the game was still an even contest, both teams pushing forward, and it gave the spectators an anxious feeling that a goal was coming; from either Chelsea or Wigan. As Essien wound up in the 66th minute to try his luck from just outside the eighteen (as we see him do so often), most observers probably thought this was going to be the goal. Although the Ghanaian is usually a hard and accurate shot, this one however, was tame and Pollitt collected gratefully.
Just over five minutes later Carvalho was alleged to have tripped Zaki and was booked; the free kick did little for Wigan however. Shortly thereafter, a Wigan substitution ten minutes from fulltime meant Olivier Kapo would be coming on for Wilson Palacios. Palacios being a central figure in Wigan’s stout performance against the Blues.
Only three minutes later did Ashley Cole come off suffering from a hamstring problem, and was replaced by Wayne Bridge at left back. Steve Bruce shortly thereafter made his final substitution of the day, searching for a point, he put on Henri Camara at the expense of Mario Melchiot, the former Chelsea right back.
Just a handful of minutes later and Cech came to Chelsea’s rescue. After great build up from the home side, Henri Camara tried a low drive to the far post which Cech managed to parry just a yard wide. Many sighs of relief from the Blues and their faithful. Anelka was taken off shortly after Cech’s heroics and replaced by Malouda.
After four minutes of stoppage time it remained Chelsea 1, Wigan nil.
It was not a pretty match for the Blues, unlike last week’s 4-0 decimation of Pompey, but they fought and held on for 3 points. It should be noted that Valencia was one of the players excellent for Wigan, shutting down Ashley Cole on the left wing. The Latics’ back four should be recognized for playing an excellent match where only Deco’s excellent 25 yard free kick made the difference. Chelsea should have produced more goals but were lacking in the final third of the field; their build ups were typically very good but the Wigan defense and only a few errant passes proved the difference.
Lineups and Stats for Wigan v Chelsea; Barclays English Premier League; August 24, 2008:
Lineups:
Chelsea (4-1-4-1) Cech; Bosingwa, Carvalho, Terry (c), A Cole (Bridge 82); Essien; Ballack, Deco, Lampard, J Cole (Kalou 57); Anelka (Malouda 88).
Unused subs: Hilario, Ivanovic, Belletti, Alex .
Manager Luiz Felipe Scolari
Wigan (4-4-2) Pollitt, Melchiot (c) (Camara 84), Boyce, Bramble, Figueroa; Valencia, Cattermole, Palacios (Kapo 79), Koumas (De Ridder h-t); Zaki, Heskey.
Unused subs: Nash, Brown, Kilbane, Sibierski.
Manager Steve Bruce
Referee Alan Wiley
Stats:
Shots on target Wigan 5 Chelsea 2
Corners Wigan 6 Chelsea 7
Fouls Wigan 13 Chelsea 17
Offsides Wigan 1 Chelsea 5
