Chelsea hold off spirited Wigan

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Chelsea beat Wigan 1-0 thanks to Deco's stunning early free-kick in their Premier League clash at the JJB Stadium.
  














The win preserved Chelsea's 100 percent record under new manager Luiz Felipe Scolari, but following their impressive opening day demolition of Portsmouth, it was very much a case of 'after the Lord Mayor's Show' for the top flight's new leaders.
This was much more like last season's Chelsea who, under the previous incumbents of the Stamford Bridge hotseat, were solid at the back but offered little in the way of entertainment at the other end.
They recorded their second consecutive victory of the new season with an unspectacular but effective performance against a Wigan side who, despite their endeavour, fell to a second straight defeat.
Latics boss Steve Bruce's best-laid plans were thrown out of the window moments prior to kick-off as Olivier Kapo complained of illness and was relegated to the bench and injury-prone goalkeeper Chris Kirkland hurt his back in the warm-up, ruling him out completely.
Jason Koumas came into the starting XI for Kapo while Mike Pollitt was called to deputise in the between the sticks. And the veteran keeper was soon in the spotlight, as he found himself picking the ball out of the back of the net with just four minutes on the clock.
Deco gave the visitors the perfect start with a superbly executed free-kick from 25 yards after Lee Cattermole was penalised for hand-ball just outside the area.
The Portuguese effortlessly found the top left hand corner to register his second goal in as many Premier League games since a summer move from Barcelona - the £7.9 million Scolari paid for his services is already beginning to look like a bargain.
A week previously, Chelsea gave a clear demonstration of their attacking prowess with the 4-0 win over Pompey, and with that fresh in their minds it would have been easy for Wigan to allow their heads to drop after such an early hammer blow.
But credit must go to Steve Bruce's side who, if anything, were inspired by going a goal down. They enjoyed the better of the possession and fashioned more chances for the remainder of the opening period.
The excellent Wilson Palacios created an opportunity for Wigan to level almost immediately. The Honduran beat Jose Bosingwa at the byline before testing Petr Cech with a sharp shot from a narrow angle.
Roared on by a partisan if sparse home crowd, Wigan looked by far the more likely to be next on the scoresheet as they continued to threaten on the attack while repelling Chelsea's rare sorties forward.
Amr Zaki, on the scoresheet on his debut last week, twice brought smart saves out of Cech, either side of a looping Palacios cross-shot that nearly caught out the Czech keeper.
With Wigan pouring forward and the ineffective Nicolas Anelka isolated up front, Chelsea found it difficult to offer much in an attacking sense.
The visitors rarely threatened Pollitt after the goal, and they were forced to rely on quick breaks and set pieces - neither of which gleaned any further breakthrough. Anelka's only contribution was a penalty appeal just before half-time, which Alan Wiley quickly waved away.
Compared with the energetic, entertaining first half, the second could not have been more different as both sides failed to bring the crowd out of their post-break slumber.
Chelsea successfully closed the game down and allowed Wigan little in terms of goal chances.
The visitors were equally uninspiring going forward as the second half progressed - Michael Essien provided a rare shot on target on 66 minutes, but his long-range shot was comfortably saved by Pollitt.
As the full-time whistle approached, Wigan might have nicked a point had Cech not been alert enough to palm away a low Kapo drive, the Frenchman having come on for the final 15 minutes.
The Latics' first-half performance might have merited a point, but Chelsea still know how to win games away from home when they are not firing on all cylinders - an ominous sign for their title rivals