Wigan Athletic 0 Chelsea 6: match report

21 August 2010 19:22
It says so much for the certainty and efficiency of this Chelsea side that Wigan Athletic will come away from a heavy defeat with no points but plenty of pride. [LNB]It is only against the very best that results are measured in such a relative manner and although Wigan will feel they controlled much of the opening period yet Chelsea did not feel in the least bit threatened. [LNB] Related ArticlesWigan v Chelsea: as it happenedPremier League actionWigan Athletic v Chelsea: match previewAncelotti: Anelka didn't deserve French banPeter Kenyon key man in Liverpool takeoverMartinez: Wigan has put Blackpool defeat behind themAfter Florent Malouda opened the scoring, Nicolas Anelka scored another two following a week that saw him respond to an 18-match ban by the France national team by claiming he was "dying with laughter". [LNB]Such was Chelsea's superiority, Anelka's mood was more of a smug smirk, particularly after Salomon Kalou added a late fourth and a fifth to underline Chelsea's wonderful start to the season. [LNB]Chelsea's 3-1 defeat here in September was as chastening as losses get and, fresh from another humbling of their own against Blackpool last week, Wigan set about trying to recreate that momentous day in their history. [LNB]Petr Cech was bundled over and Steve Gohouri won the ball and smashed through Florent Malouda and after Mohamed Diame burst away from Branislav Ivanovic, his cross had just too much on it for Mauro Boselli. [LNB]Maynor Figueroa also broke forward from deep and had a thumping 30-yard effort swatted away by Cech and there were also some neat touches from Charles N'Zogbia, who was left out of the Blackpool defeat due to his poor attitude. [LNB]Michael Essien's wild strike into the crowd was as close as the visitors came in the early stages, content to stand firm against the onslaught and wait for some semblance of control as Nicolas Anelka struggled with his weekly battle with the offside flag. [LNB]Hugo Rodallega, whose harassment of the Chelsea defence was crucial to last season's victory, also had a curling free kick held by Cech as the hosts sensed their momentum was gathering. [LNB]Seven days before, Wigan were second to everything but now they were fighting each other to win second balls and after Diame bustled Anelka off the ball, Figueroa laid the ball on for Rodallega, who cut in from the left and had another long-range effort held by Cech. [LNB]But while Wigan were struggling to make their dominance count, Chelsea pulled them apart with their first attack of any note. [LNB]Didier Drogba slipped through to Ashley Cole, whose shove left N'Zogbia on the ground, and the left back's cross picked out Frank Lampard on the penalty spot. Chris Kirkland palmed away the midfielder's stab at goal but Malouda was the quickest to react, to roll into an empty net from a couple of yards out. [LNB]Ronnie Stam had a low effort saved by Cech as Wigan searched for a way back but Chelsea looked like they could rip the hosts open whenever the fancy took them, with Antolin Alcaraz desperately clearing ahead of Drogba. [LNB]N'Zogbia was clearly aggrieved and seconds after a late sliding challenge on John Terry, the Frenchman looked to have caught the Chelsea captain with his knee. [LNB]A couple of minutes after the restart, Chelsea put the game beyond their hosts, with a goal that exposed Wigan's defensive failings as much as demonstrating the ruthlessness of the champions. [LNB]John Obi Mikel's 60-yard diagonal ball was perfect for Anelka and the striker found a way of squeezing the ball inside the far post despite being forced wide. [LNB]Five minutes later, it was three. Cech hoofed the ball clear down the left channel, and Drogba attempted to bounce the ball in from Malouda only for Anelka, who had been in an offside position, to glance over the line with the faintest of touches. [LNB]Wigan still attempted to stretch the Londoners, with James McCarthy playing N'Zogbia through, only for the Frenchman to be denied by Alex's block. [LNB]Another wonderful run by Rodallega ended with Brazilian Alex once again flinging himself in front of N'Zogbia's effort. [LNB]Even when Wigan finally did have the ball in the net, it was ruled out for offside. Youngster James McCarthy's curling shot beat Cech but came back off the post for Mauro Boselli, who had failed to spot Chelsea's defensive line step up. [LNB]Boselli, a £6 million summer recruit from Estudiantes, also had a glancing header blocked by Cech after meeting N'Zogbia's fine cross. [LNB]The rout was complete when Drogba intercepted in midfield and burst clear only to square for substitute Kalou to side-foot into an empty net and he also glanced in a second from Drogba's wonderful cross to make it five with a minute left before Yossi Benayoun scored his first for the club to make it six. [LNB]Effortless, easy and authoritative. [LNB]

Source: Telegraph