Wigan 0 - 2 Chelsea

| England News

Saturday Nov 03 2007 03:00

Wigan Athletic crashed to their sixth defeat in a row to increase the pressure on Chris Hutchings as Chelsea moved into third spot in the Premier League table without ever clicking into top gear at the JJB Stadium.

The contest was effectively over after Chelsea struck twice inside the opening 20 minutes with Frank Lampard and Juliano Belletti grabbing the goals.

Wigan did show more fight in the second period but the decision to operate with just Marcus Bent up front left the Latics short on fire-power when they faced an uphill battle to get back into the game. The defeat saw them slip into the bottom three for the first time this season.

Steve Bennett was in charge of a Wigan game for the first time since the infamous match at Newcastle which led to the Latics being fined £20,000 over the behaviour of their players.

And he hardly endeared himself to the Wigan fans with some decisions which included turning down two penalty appeals and booking Denny Landzaat.

The first came early on when lone striker Bent went down in the box but the referee was unimpressed by claims for a penalty.Petr Cech was in action keeping out a long-range strike from Landzaat before Chelsea snatched the lead.Shaun Wright-Phillips ghosted past two defenders with embarrassing ease and laid the ball on a plate for Lampard who gleefully accepted the gift to net his fourth of the season.

The Latics were punished again when Brazilian defender Belletti was allowed to race clear before smashing in a wonder goal from around 25 yards.

Wigan claimed the ball had gone out of play in the build-up but that was not backed up by replay evidence.

Chelsea threatened again when Wright-Phillips robbed Jason Koumas but Chris Kirkland held the shot and another chance went begging when Florent Malouda failed to find a finish from close range after Belletti had picked him out with a superb cross.

They were a whisker away from number three when Didier Drogba hammered a free-kick inches over the bar just before half-time.

Wigan showed more purpose in the second period and Bent again appealed in vain for a spot-kick when he went down under the challenge of Ricardo Carvalho.Michael Brown had a crack but the goalbound shot was blocked by Alex as Wigan opted to get stuck in. There were only nine minutes left when Bent finally got some company with Antoine Sibierski replacing Landzaat, but it was too late for the Frenchman to make any difference.

Live Commentary

90
FULL TIME: WIGAN 0 - 2 CHELSEA: Chelsea move to withing 3 points of Arsenal and Manchester United at the top of the table with their seventh consecutive win. Wigan on the other hand are in deep trouble, crumbling to their fifth successive defeat.

90
Chelsea park themselves in the Wigan half. Steve Sidwell hits a long range shot but it is blocked by Bramble.

88
A deep Wigan cross finds Sibierski who beats Alex and Belletti to the ball, but his header sails over the crossbar.

87
Bramble is booked for a rash challenge on Sidwell.

86
Bent nods the ball down to Sibierski who is in a great position, but is pulled back for offside.

85
Michael Brown leaves the field to a mixed reception. Josip Skoko takes his place.

83
Chelsea do not seem to be looking for another goal any more, and are simply looking to run the clock down by playing slow tempo possession football.

81
Antoine Sibierski makes a return following an injury, and replaces Denny Landzaat

80
Michael Brown hits a hopeful shot and sends it into the stand behind Cech's goal.

78
Alex's headed clearance is only as far as Paul Scharner, and his volley whistles past the post to the relief of Cech.

76
Michael Essien leaves the field, making way for Steve Sidwell

75
Salomon Kalou replaces Didier Drogba

72
Avram Grant looks surprised at this second half performance and looks set to make some substitutions.

70
The ball bounces loose in the Chelsea box but Carvalho boots the ball clear

68
The home crowd urge their side forward and they win a corner, but the delivery is too close to Cech who gathers the ball with ease.

67
Wigan go in search of a goal again but Landzaat is caught in possession after working his way into a decent position.

65
Didier Drogba receives the first booking of the game after pulling Michael Brown's shirt.

63
Chelsea put together a superb flowing counter attack involving Wright-Phillips, Essien and Lampard, but Lampard's final shot sails over the crossbar. If that move had come off, it would have been one of the goals of the season.

61
Essien hits a long-range shot on the volley but it does not trouble Kirkland as it dips over the crossbar.

60
It is still not too late for a Wigan comeback, but Chelsea have kept a clean sheet in their last four Premiership games and are defending stubbornly today.

58
Chris Hutchings will be delighted with his side's response after the interval. They have not had any clear cut chances but are dominating at the moment.

57
Denny Landzaat is booked for arguing with Steve Bennett.

56
Michael Brown hits a shot from 18-yards but it is blocked by Alex.

54
Belletti hits an ambitious effort from way out but misses the target, and then goes down rather theatrically following a challenge from Koumas.

52
Wright-Phillips clips a cross into the danger area but it is too close to Kirkland who collects the ball.

50
Bent breaks into the Chelsea box and Carvalho clumsily goes into the back of him but wins the ball, and the two go to ground. Bennett waves away the penalty appeals.

49
Koumas runs at the Chelsea defence, but runs into danger and Alex clears the danger.

48
The rest of the pressure from Wigan comes to nothing, but nevertheless a positive start to the second half.

47
Sloppy play from Chelsea gives the home side momentum and Landzaat gets a shot away inside the box but Carvalho puts in a goal-saving block.

46
The ball drops on the edge of the Chelsea box but Koumas cannot direct his shot goal-wards.

45
The sides return to the field for the second half, with no changes being made to either side.

45
HALF TIME: WIGAN 0 - 2 CHELSEA: Though they have had decent spells of possession, the early goals killed Wigan and the visitors are very much in control.

44
Chelsea dubiously win a corner and it is taken by Lampard, but his good delivery is wasted as Bennett blows for a Wigan free-kick.

42
Melchiot gets a shot away on the edge of the area but skews it wide of Petr Cech's goal.

40
Chelsea win a free-kick in a dangerous position. After a lengthy discussion, Drogba curls a shot at goal and it grazes the crossbar.

38
Luis Antonio Valencia gets into a decent position on the left flank but is easily dispossessed before he gets his cross away.

35
Florent Malouda latches onto a Belletti cross and is in a good position, but makes a mess of his shot and sends it wide of the mark

33
Drogba hooks a cross into the danger area but Chris Kirkland is quick off his line to pluck the ball out of the air.

32
Drogba dispossesses a Wigan defender and hits a long range shot which is blocked by Titus Bramble.

30
Wright-Phillips runs at the Wigan defence before letting fly from 20-yards but sends his shot over the bar.

28
Wigan enjoy a decent spell of possession, but each move breaks down when they approach the edge of the Chelsea penalty area.

25
The game already seems to be over. The visitors look high in confidence and are passing the ball around with ease.

22
Wright-Phillips slots a neat through ball into the path of Didier Drogba, who has strayed offside.

20
Chris Hutchings must be hoping he is not going to see his side suffer a defeat as heavy as the Chelsea V Man City game last week.

19
The home crowd are very subdued, while the travelling supporters are jubilant in the away stand.

17
WIGAN 0 - 2 CHELSEA: JULIANO BELLETTI runs uncontested from the halfway line before curling a shot into the top corner from just inside the penalty area.

15
Chris Hutchings only has one man up-front and he has a decision to make now as to whether he moves another player up there with him.

13
Avram Grant's strong start at the Chelsea helm looks set to continue as Chelsea are well on top at the moment.

11
WIGAN 0 - 1 CHELSEA: Wright-Phillips puts a low cross into the box and FRANK LAMPARD tucks it away neatly to notch his forth goal of the week.

9
Denny Landzaat tries his luck from 30-yards, but Cech moves to his left and plucks the ball out of the air.

8
The Wigan players are still complaining at Bennett as Chelsea break away, but Shaun Wright-Phillips slips and slices his cross behind for a goal-kick.

7
A cross is put into the area and Bent goes down under a strong challenge from Belletti. The home crowd and players are furious as Steve Bennett waves away the protests.

5
Belletti bursts into the Wigan penalty area but his shot is blocked.

4
Wgigan line-up with five in midfield as they desperately try to stop Chelsea playing.

2
A massive contrast in confidence levels for today's game, with Chelsea winning their last six consecutive games in all competitions and Wigan losing their previous five

1
Marcus Bent picks up the ball on the left flank and plays it inside for Jason Koumas, whose shot is blocked by Juliano Belletti

0
Referee Steve Bennett gets the game underway with Chelsea kicking-off.

0
CHELSEA STARTING XI: Cech, Belletti, Alex, Carvalho, Bridge, Obi, Essien, Lampard, Wright-Phillips, Drogba, Malouda. SUBS: Cudicini, Shevchenko, Sidwell, Kalou, Ben-Haim

0
WIGAN STARTING XI: Kirkland, Melchiot, Granqvist, Bramble, Kilbane, Valencia, Brown, Scharner, Landzaat, Koumas, Bent. SUBS: Pollitt, Sibierski, Aghahowa, Boyce, Skoko

0
Paulo Ferreira has been ruled out for six weeks with an ankle injury, paving way for Wayne Bridge who starts at left-back. Andriy Shevchenko begins the game on the bench, with Didier Drogba and Florent Malouda starting up-front.

0
Emile Heskey misses out on today's game for Wigan, while Mario Melchiot returns to face his former side. Denny Landzaat, Antonio Valencia, Marcus Bent and Michael Brown all pass fit and make the starting eleven.

Statistics

Wigan

Shots on target	3
Shots off target	7
Shots off bar/post	0
Fouls	16
Offsides	2
Corners	4

Chelsea

Shots on target	7
Shots off target	6
Shots off bar/post	0
Fouls	9
Offsides	2
Corners	3

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