Summary
A run of four games
without a win came to an end at Stamford Bridge. It was a victory which keeps
us third in the Barclays Premier League table.
Ramires had given us
the lead with his sixth goal of the season midway through the first half,
finishing well after excellent build-up play between David Luiz and Fernando
Torres, and the fact Wigan goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi had been their best player
before the break spoke volumes.
Eden Hazard doubled
our lead shortly after the restart, converting from a Cesar Azpilicueta cross,
but two minutes later the away side were back in it as Shaun Maloney pounced on
a loose ball and rounded Cech to score.
Frank Lampard's 12th
goal of the season, however, coupled with an injury-time header by substitute
Marko Marin, sealed the victory for the Blues.
Chelsea v Wigan
Attention now turns
towards the Europa League, and a last 32 clash with Sparta Prague on Thursday.
Team news
Rafael Benitez made
four changes to the side which was beaten at Newcastle United a week ago. With
John Terry suffering an inflammation of his knee, Branislav Ivanovic partnered
Gary Cahill in the centre of defence, while Azpilicueta, who made his senior
Spain debut in midweek, came in at right-back.
David Luiz returned
to the side having missed our last three games with a calf problem, while we
were also able to welcome back Eden Hazard from suspension.
With Juan Mata
suffering with a virus, Benitez opted to start the Spaniard on the bench,
allowing Oscar to play through the middle, with Ramires moving further forward
to play wide on the right.
Fernando Torres
started in attack, with Demba Ba, who suffered a broken nose on his return to
St James' Park, named as one of the substitutes.
Former Chelsea
player Franco Di Santo started for the visitors.
First half
While the Blues went
into the game having not won since the game against Arsenal towards the end of
last month, the visitors were equally in need of the points, and it was Roberto
Martinez's side who started more positively.
Petr Cech, who
played despite a hand injury sustained while away on international duty, was
forced into two smart saves within the opening six minutes, first with his feet
to deny Di Santo, and immediately after diving to his right to claw away a
Shaun Maloney curler which looked destined for the far corner.
We had to wait until
the 14th minute for our first real sight of goal. Paul Scharner was adjudged to
have fouled Hazard, and from the resulting kick Torres glanced Lampard's
delivery narrowly wide.
Two minutes later
the Spaniard went close again, taking a brilliant pass from Branislav Ivanovic
in his stride before turning Gary Caldwell and firing straight at Al Habsi.
After a slow start,
we were gradually beginning to impose our influence on the game, and the
pressure eventually told in the 22nd minute.
David Luiz brought
the ball out from the back and slipped it in to Torres, who in turn helped it
on to the advancing Ramires with a delightful touch; the Brazilian showed a
great turn of pace to accelerate away, and as Al Habsi raced off his line he
calmly dispatched it into the back of the net.
Chelsea v Wigan
It was a lovely
Chelsea move and a goal that, on the balance of play, we probably deserved, but
having allowed leads to slip away in our previous two matches, there was still
plenty of work to do.
Ten minutes later we
almost doubled our advantage; Ramires fed Azpilicueta, and as the youngster
picked out Torres with a brilliant cross, the striker's header was expertly
tipped over the bar by Al Habsi.
As Chelsea began to
string pass after pass together, Wigan were struggling to keep us at bay.
Lampard, who had scored in our last three league games, fizzed one just wide
from distance, while it took a deflection to deny David Luiz as he rose to meet
an Oscar corner.
In truth, it had
been a half which we'd completely dominated, but the warning signs remained.
Three minutes before
the break, Maloney delivered a dangerous ball from wide on the right; it had
just a little too much pace on it for Di Santo, but with James McArthur ready
to pounce at the far post, a clever defensive header from Azpilicueta cleared
the danger.
Second half
No doubt pleased
with what he'd seen during the opening 45 minutes, Benitez chose not to make
any changes at the break, and 10 minutes into the second half it was 2-0.
From a free-kick
deep inside our own half, Cahill released Azpilicueta down the right-hand side;
his cross found Hazard inside the penalty area, and the Belgian took one touch
before drilling his strike beyond Al Habsi.
Chelsea v Wigan
If the second goal
was expected to allow us some breathing space, however, what followed two
minutes later was a stark reminder, if one was needed, that the game was far
from over.
A hopeful ball
forward by McCarthur exposed both Cahill and Ivanovic; Maloney was quickest to
react, and as Cech attempted to narrow the angle, the Wigan man rounded him and
calmly slotted the ball into the empty net.
Sensing the
importance of restoring our two-goal advantage, we looked to hit back
instantly, and Lampard was unfortunate to see his effort roll inches past Al
Habsi's left-hand post after combining with Ashley Cole.
Having reduced the
deficit, though, Wigan appeared to feel that there might be something left for
them in the game, and when Maloney crashed a shot against the hand of Cole
inside the box, they appealed for a penalty.
Replays appeared to
confirm it had struck the defender's hand, but much to the relief of the home
supporters Mike Dean waved the appeals away.
Benitez made his
first substitution of the afternoon with 14 minutes remaining, replacing Oscar,
who was indicating he was in some discomfort, with Mata.
With the clock
ticking down and the game still in the balance, a delightful move saw us all
but secure the three points.
Hazard, who had been
a constant threat throughout the second half, worked his way into the box
before pulling it back to Mata. Reading the situation intelligently, the
substitute let the ball run through his legs and into the path of Lampard, who
fired a fantastic strike past Al Habsi into the bottom right-hand corner of the
net.
His 198th goal for
the club sealed a much-needed win. However, there was still time for more. Two
minutes into added time, a powerful drive by Azpilicueta stung the palms of Al
Habsi, and it was substitute Marko Marin on hand to head his first goal for the
club into an empty net, much to the delight of his team-mates who were quick to
embrace the German.
Chelsea v Wigan
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech; Azpilicueta, Cahill (Benayoun 87),
Ivanovic, Cole; David Luiz, Lampard (c); Ramires, Oscar (Mata 77), Hazard
(Marin 90); Torres.
Unused substitutes
Turnbull, Ferreira, Bertrand, Ba.
Scorers Ramires 23,
Hazard 55, Lampard 86, Marin 90+1
Booked Marin 90+2
Wigan Athletic (3-5-2): Al Habsi; Scharner, Caldwell (c), Figueroa; Stam
(Jones 82), McArthur, McCarthy, Espinoza (Kone 58), Beausejour; Di Santo,
Maloney.
Unused substitutues
Robles, Golobart, Gomez, McManaman, Henriquez.
Scorer Maloney 57
Booked Scharner 63,
Figueroa 79
Referee Mike Dean
Crowd 41,562
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