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Sunday Times: Chelsea 1 Wigan 0: Chelsea accuse Wigan of cheating John Aizlewood at Stamford Bridge JOSE MOURINHO clashed with his Wigan counterpart Paul Jewell after the Chelsea manager accused Lee McCulloch of cheating by feigning injury during the second half, as his side were struggling to break down a dogged Wigan defensive performance. That his champions eventually prevailed 1-0 seemed secondary to the flashpoint just before an hour had elapsed. A rattled, ungallant Chelsea refused to yield possession from a throw-in after a McCulloch injury. David Connolly allowed the ball to run out after his teammate went down clutching his ankle after a clash with Joe Cole. "A little bit unsporting," reflected Jewell. "Their manager told them to keep possession." "Yes, I did," agreed an unrepentant Mourinho. "And I will do it again. We know what fair play is, but we're not stupid; their player was cheating by pretending to be injured. My players pretend not to be injured when they are." Mourinho, who was fined £5,000 by the FA after using the word "cheat" towards Manchester United players after their Carling Cup semi-final in January, continued: "Fair play is not to cheat, so if someone is guilty of unsporting behaviour, it is them. It happened two metres in front of me and all my bench was completely sure about it. "It hurts to be called unsporting because we are a team that respects the game and we proved that five minutes later when we kicked the ball out because McCulloch was injured," said Mourinho. Jewell thought it showed an amount of trepidation. "When we kick the ball out when one of our players is injured, and they keep it," he said, "it just shows how much they must fear us." Back to the impact of the actual result — after a club record 11th successive home League victory, Chelsea are masters of all they survey. They have a 12-point cushion at the summit of the League, have not dropped a home point since April and have both the Premiership's meanest defence and its most potent strike force. Yet, they struggled to three points yesterday. Before John Terry struck, the champions were thwarted for more than an hour by a stubborn Wigan, who gave hope to the rest of the Premiership by making Chelsea look lacklustre. "They're world class," said Jewell, "but we've come down here, lost to a lapse of concentration at a set-piece and I'm very disappointed." After a hat-trick of League defeats, Wigan did not create a chance of note, but how they relished pitting their wits and their never-say-die defending against a Chelsea whose far-from-lupine lethargy scared themselves, if not their guests. As Chelsea struggled for coherence, Wigan defended deeply but not suicidally and with the excellent Graham Kavanagh simultaneously anchoring midfield and shadowing Joe Cole, they looked comfortable until their only attack of the first half broke down in the 16th minute. Then, Cole collected inside his own half, outfoxed Stephane Henchoz, sprinted towards goal and shot low. Michael Pollitt saved well, Josip Skoko hacked away and Chelsea had served false notice that second gear might easily become fifth. The hosts might have had a penalty when Terry was bundled over by Lee McCulloch in the 25th minute, but without looking threatening, Wigan rarely looked threatened until they fell asleep in the 31st minute. Asier Del Horno took a quick free kick, the unmarked Hernan Crespo headed over Pollitt to the far post only to see Leighton Baines emerge from nowhere to head clear with a majestic combination of timing and athleticism. Mourinho reshuffled at the break, introducing Drogba for Duff, and Chelsea briefly exuded wolverine menace. Two minutes into the second period, Michael Essien's gorgeously weighted through-ball enabled Drogba to nip in ahead of Baines and shoot hard and low at goal only to discover that Pollitt's reflexes were exemplary. Wigan did not wilt and if Chelsea's patience had long worn thin, theirs was infinite and the more the game progressed the more McCulloch became an able foil for the hitherto isolated David Connolly and Jason Roberts. Indeed, when a thoroughly exasperated Mourinho sent on Gudjohnsen for the hapless Arjen Robben, Wigan were, territorially at least, on top. Just when Wigan saw a heroic point edging their way, Chelsea won it. Lampard slung over a corner from the right. Drogba's marvellously intelligent run drew Matt Jackson and created space for Terry to sneak in front of a lax McCulloch to head past Pollitt. STAR MAN: Matt Jackson (Wigan) Player ratings. Chelsea: Cudicini 6, Gallas 6, Terry 7, Carvalho 6, Del Horno 6, Essien 6, Cole 6, Lampard 6, Robben 4 (Gudjohnsen 59min, 6), Crespo 5 (Geremi 69min, 5), Duff 5 (Drogba h-t, 6) Wigan: Pollitt 7, Chimbonda 7, Henchoz 7, Jackson 7, Baines 7, Taylor 5 (Teale 80min, 5), Kavanagh 7 (Bullard 73min, 5), Skoko 6, McCulloch 7, Connolly 6, Roberts 6 (Camara 73min, 5) Scorer: Chelsea: Terry 67 Referee: H Webb Attendance: 42,060 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ People: TERRY'S A FIRST CLASS ACT Chelsea 1 Wigan 0 DEFENDER STAMPS HIS AUTHORITY WITH WINNER AGAIN Andy Dunn IF JOHN Terry, instead of that less distinguished football leader Adam Crozier, was running the Royal Mail, our postal worries would be sorted. Terry delivers. And he delivers on time. Just as he had done in the previous Premiership game against Middlesbrough, Terry knew the moment had come. Over an hour of a laborious Chelsea performance had passed and there were precious few signs that Wigan's staunch resistance would be broken. Hope glinted for Manchester United, Liverpool and the small chasing pack ... before Terry took matters on to his own granite forehead. An unstoppable run and an unstoppable header kept Chelsea on their seemingly unstoppable charge to the title. Terry's threat in opposition areas is what should give him the nod over Rio Ferdinand in Germany next year. Rio has been up for about a million consecutive set-pieces and has barely made contact with leather, let alone score. Terry is always a potent threat. And he spared Jose Mourinho a blush or two, with the Chelsea manager resting a couple of big names ahead of more rigorous tests to come. It is a tough school here at The Bridge, a piffling run of five clean sheets not enough to keep Petr Cech away from the bench. Presumably he was rested. Rested from what? Doing nothing? And the only difference to Carlo Cudicini's afternoon was that he had to do nothing standing up rather than sitting down. Defences aren't this well-prepared at the Old Bailey. There was never any chance of Wigan keeper Mike Pollitt - neck and neck with Peter Crouch, don't forget, in the goalscoring tables - being similarly under-employed. A week after his comic turn, this was a star turn - a strong-wristed flick around the post from Joe Cole's strike being the pick of his early saves. Cole was one of few Chelsea performers who started on time. He has developed a penetration in his play that could yet see him claim that fourth sport in England's midfield alongside Sven Goran Eriksson's holy trinity of David Beckham, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard. But the new direct approach has not diluted the trickery and it was a familiar Cole turn that should have led to a Chelsea opener just after the half-hour mark. Cole was still grounded after winning the free-kick that Asier Del Horno quickly sent towards an alert Hernan Crespo. The Argentinian striker was long odds-on to score from six yards out but Leighton Baines came from out of the clouds for a dramatic headed clearance. And that was as close as it got for Chelsea in a first half that was more cobblestone than King's Road. Terry probably should have earned his side a penalty when Lee McCulloch appeared to rugby-tackle him as he zeroed in on an Arjen Robben set-piece. But the Chelsea skipper has got away with so much in both penalty areas in his time that he cannot really complain. Despite Cudicini's idleness, Terry did have a string of defensive duties to perform, twice proving to be one hurdle too many for Jason Roberts to clear. But while hardly disturbing Cudicini, Wigan had every right to head off at half-time feeling fairly upbeat. Their main triumph had been to knock Chelsea's midfield out of its usual regal stride. Paul Jewell's team harass the opposition like celebrity stalkers and frequently hunt in pairs. They were helped not only by a contrite Michael Essien's refusal to even breathe on an opponent but by an imbalance in Chelsea's system that saw Robben playing just behind Crespo. The communication lines between Damien Duff and Robben were particularly fuzzy and the Irishman was held responsible, staying underground as Didier Drogba was sent on for the second half. And the man from the Ivory Coast immediately tickled Chelsea into some sort of life, muscling his way on to an Essien pass before forcing a top-class, point-blank save out of Pollitt. But rather than take the champions up a notch it lifted the underdogs and, on a rare foray, McCulloch took an air-shot from a centrally promising position. It was a moment of illusory hope because, midway through the second half, Chelsea resorted to their fail-safe mechanism, otherwise known as their captain. Lampard's corner was his best-struck piece of work all afternoon and Matt Jackson was like a passenger on a platform as an express-train run from Terry used the ball as a buffer and sent it thundering at Pollitt. The Wigan keeper got his fingertips to it - and they probably ended up with the ball in the back of the net. Presumably, Pollitt won't be given this one. No. The goal, the game and the victory - not for the first time - belonged to John Terry CHELSEA: Cudicini 6 - Gallas 6, Carvalho 7, *TERRY 8, Del Horno 6 - J Cole 7, Lampard 7, Essien 6, Duff 5 (Drogba 45mins, 6) - Robben 5 (Gudjohnsen 59mins, 6) - Crespo 7 (Geremi 69mins, 6). WIGAN: *POLLITT 8 - Chimbonda 5, Henchoz 6, Jackson 6, Baines 7 - Taylor 6 (Teale 79mins, 6), Kavanagh 7 (Bullard 73mins, 6), Skoko 6, McCulloch 7 - Roberts 6 (Camara 73mins, 6), Connolly 6. Ref: H Webb 7. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mirror: TERRY HEAD MAN AGAIN CHELSEA...............1 Terry 67 WIGAN.................0 Chelsea's Captain Marvel to the rescue Anthony Clavane JOHN Terry's diving header gave Chelsea their 12th straight Premiership win at the Bridge against stubborn Wigan. For the second week running the Blues captain rode to his side's rescue, showing his misfiring strikers the way to hit the back of the net. Terry, who scored the winner against Middlesbrough last Saturday, met Frank Lampard's corner to keep Chelsea on course for the title and preserve their unbeaten home record. Wigan chairman Dave Whelan seemed upset that Roman Abramovich had rejected his club's pies at the start of the season. But for over an hour yesterday his side, patronised as flat-capped pigeon-fanciers, contained their illustrious opponents and showed a point at Chelsea was not pie in the sky. In the end the Blues, as expected, won again and are well on the way to retaining the title. They were solid in defence - it is now 419 minutes since they conceded a goal - and dominant in midfield. The only worry for Jose Mourinho was that they had to rely on Terry again to spare their strikers' blushes. Wigan chairman Dave Whelan, who believes Chelsea's unrivalled riches will ruin English football, had called for a cap on salaries and squad sizes. Whelan said Abramovich's spending power was "damaging to football and to the competition. You see Chelsea at home and it is a 90 to 100 per cent guaranteed home win". But until Terry broke the deadlock, the paupers put a cap on the princes' progress, soaking up the pressure with a mixture of self-assuredness and luck. Mourinho's men certainly weren't guaranteed a win despite dominating and creating a host of chances. Lampard set up Michael Essien for an early strike after good work from Arjen Robben but the midfielder snatched at his shot and launched the ball high into the stands. Then Hernan Crespo's neat flick sent Joe Cole racing through and the England star adroitly sidestepped Stephane Henchoz before forcing a great save from Michael Pollitt. Chelsea should have had a penalty when Lee McCulloch's rugby-tackled Terry, as the centre-back went for Lampard's free-kick, but referee Howard Webb was unmoved. Wigan had an even bigger escape shortly afterwards when the unmarked Crespo nodded Asier Del Horno's quickly-taken free-kick past Pollitt but Leighton Baines, chasing back heroically, somehow managed to head the ball off the line. Then just before half-time Lampard's weakly-hit volley was easily collected by Pollitt. All the Latics could offer by way of a reply was a Graham Kavanagh volley from 25 yards, which sailed past Carlo Cudicini's left-hand post. Mourinho's half-time team changes are the stuff of legend, and bringing on Didier Drogba for the anonymous Damien Duff almost paid immediate dividends. The Ivory Coast striker, was immediately sent through by Essien for a one-on-one with Pollitt but the keeper pulled off a superb stop with his legs. Changing from a 4-5-1 to a 4-4-2 system galavanised Chelsea and the brilliant Pollitt had to make two more magnificent saves, one at the feet of Cole, the other from Lampard. But even the 33-year-old, who recently replaced John Filan in goal, could not keep out Terry in the 67th minute. The England central defender's header was powerful and Pollitt could only get a hand to it as it flew into the net. This was Wigan's fourth defeat in a row, following losses at Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool, but they collected 25 points by the first weekend in November and, on this form, it's only a matter of time before results go their way again. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Observer : Terry gives Chelsea wedge the edge Will Buckley at Stamford Bridge Sunday December 11, 2005 The Observer On the opening of the season, Wigan came very close to upsetting the champions in a game Jose Mourinho graciously described as being one of a very few played this season his side didn't deserve to win. If Damien Francis's header had been an inch lower they might indeed have won a game they lost thanks to a late and magnificent strike from Hernan Crespo. Yesterday the score was the same, but the game was very different. Chelsea dominated, but had little to show for their domination. Wigan battled, but were always going to lose the fight. Chelsea lined up in a 4-3-2-1 formation, or flying wedge as it should perhaps be known, with Arjen Robben and Damien Duff playing either side and just behind Crespo. It is a system they have to rely on in the coming months when, with Didier Drogba away at the African Nations' Cup and Carlton Cole more effective on the Playstation than he is on the pitch, they will depend on Crespo. He has enjoyed a flickering start to the season. Since opening day - when fit to work - his performances have been on and off. Their first chance arrived after Robben dribbled across the pitch and found Frank Lampard, who set the ball up for Michael Essien only for him to blast over. For a while they faltered but then a Crespo flick released Joe Cole on the halfway line and he ran half the length of the pitch before being denied by a smart save from Michael Pollitt. It was patient rather than penetrating stuff. And Mourinho was on his feet with regularity attempting to teach his players how to play the new system. More often than not his lectures were directed at Cole, who seemed required to play everywhere. On 25 minutes Chelsea should have been awarded a penalty as Lee McCulloch rugby-tackled John Terry in the area. Wigan, meanwhile, seemed content to be level. Their system was less wedge and more sponge, with the aim of soaking up everything and then maybe squeezing a little something out at the end. On the half-hour Del Horno took a free-kick quickly, an unmarked Crespo headed towards goal and Leighton Baines running backwards remarkably contrived to head the ball off the line. More Chelsea pressure followed. Their fans, who had been quiet, became anxious. The team followed their lead, passing sloppily and showing their frustration. For a moment, Wigan threatened, only for a smart Lampard volley almost provide the opening goal in a disappointing half of football. During half-time, Mourinho decided to dispense with his flying wedge and fall back on the blunderbuss, replacing one DD with another as Drogba came on for Duff. The second DD nearly worked immediate wonders as an Essien lay-off allowed Drogba to advance on goal and shoot strongly only for Pollitt to save with his legs. The change in formation failed to prevent Crespo continuing to drift offside. And, as so often this season, with the Chelsea machine stuttering the manager called for Eidur Gudjohnsen. The Icelander coming on for Robben, who had started boldly before fading, and Del Horno pushing up into midfield. From 4-3-2-1 to 3-1-4-2 via 4-2-4. It was all somewhat confusing and Cole sensibly stuck to the right wing. The first booking followed a minute later with Jason Roberts being shown the yellow card for time-wasting, quite an achievement for a striker. But this was a team effort from Wigan. Their endeavour, however, was finally undone when a Lampard corner was met with maximum power by Terry and, despite the best efforts of Pollitt, snuck into the net. Mourinho celebrated the goal with another formation change as Geremi replaced the fitful Crespo and Chelsea lined up as something between a wedge and a blunderbuss. Wigan changed personnel, but not formation as they attempted to chase a game that they had previously tried to contain. After a bright opening to the Premiership campaign they were now facing a fourth consecutive defeat. But their spirit suggested the points gathered during their time of plenty will not be wasted come the end of the season. There are three worse teams than them in the division. Some of their best football came towards the end as they enjoyed a flurry of possession that kept the ball near the Chelsea area. At no time, however, did they manage to register a shot on target. And Carlo Cudicini, selected so Cech might rest, passed a untroubled afternoon. At the other end, Lampard and Cole nearly added a second after individual runs. And Chelsea might for the second time in the afternoon have received a penalty after Gudjohnson was sent sprawling. MAN OF THE MATCH John Terry Commanding at the back, albeit with little to command. And for the second home game in a row it was his header that made the difference. Mourinho has said he has no qualms about his captain going down the bookies, but would be appalled if a Portuguese player was to behave in such a way. Carvalho has been warned. Referee H Webb - average. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Telegraph: Tireless Terry stoops to conquer cornered Wigan (Chelsea (0) 1 Wigan (0) 0 For three quarters of the match, Wigan, whom Paul Jewell had fashioned into a more solid unit than at Liverpool a week earlier, held out and were starting to sniff a reward when Chelsea unhinged them at a corner, John Terry heading the winner. Jewell's team have now lost four Premiership contests in a row and, given that they visit Manchester United on Wednesday, must be glad that they put together a sequence of six consecutive wins that sent them to second place in the table. Not surprisingly Wigan were on the back foot for most of the afternoon and it was to their defence's credit that their goalkeeper Mike Pollitt, though busy enough and more then competent, was not required to cover himself with glory. And Chelsea, after the controversy of last week, were pleased to rely on the relentless efficiency that is their hallmark. The widespread revulsion over Michael Essien's lunge at Dietmar Hamann during the Champions League match with Liverpool here on Tuesday night was admirably recognised by UEFA, who have charged the Chelsea midfielder with gross unsporting conduct, and few would disagree with the view of the Wigan chairman, Dave Whelan, that a 10-match ban would be in order. Something has to be done about these so-called tackles, which have crept back into football over the past few years and, if unchecked, will end careers (as Whelan's was in notionally less civilised times for the game). Essien continued in the Claude Makelele role, protecting the back four from a Wigan team who seemed undaunted by their recent change of fortune but were unable to stem the flow towards Pollitt. After Essien had shot over, a superb break saw Hernan Crespo - the plunger of a late dagger through Wigan's hearts when, freshly promoted, they performed splendidly against the champions at the JJB Stadium in August - flick cleverly for Joe Cole, who got past Stephane Henchoz and sidestepped Leighton Baines but was frustrated by Pollitt's save. Chelsea were in complete control. They had a case for a penalty, which was briefly but powerfully argued by John Terry as he ran back after being rugby-tackled to the ground by Lee McCulloch while endeavouring to reach an inswinging free-kick by Frank Lampard. They showed a quick wit when another free-kick was awarded in a wide position and Asier Del Horno chipped it through the unprepared visiting ranks for Crespo, whose delicately glanced header Baines did extremely well to deny on the line. You hardly noticed that Chelsea had restored Carlo Cudicini in goal, all but unemployed as he was. Although Terry and his rearguard fellows had much to do with that, a fine illustration of Jose Mourinho's belief that defending is a team game was provided near the interval when Jason Roberts surged past two men in a threatening manner only to be harried and halted by not Terry, nor Essien but Damien Duff. In the circumstances Wigan were pleased to reach the halfway mark level, a status preserved by Pollitt when, after Crespo's chest had served Lampard, the England midfielder shot from 25 yards but was thwarted by the diving goalkeeper. Pollitt made an even better stop on the resumption, getting his body in the way of a blast by Didier Drogba, though the substitute, newly on for Duff, might have been better advised to take aim; certainly Wigan could count themselves lucky that the chance did not fall to Crespo, who had been retained in a 4-2-4 formation with Cole and Arjen Robben on the flanks. As if this were not adventurous enough, Mourinho waited only a quarter of an hour before replacing Robben with Eidur Gudjohnsen and switching to three at the back, with Del Horno pushed into midfield. Still Wigan refused to buckle - until a rehearsed set-piece succeeded where formations had failed. Lampard took a corner on the right and, while Drogba ran to the near post, taking Matt Jackson with him, Terry stole in behind to stoop and head so powerfully that the ball went in off Pollitt's hands. Blameless there, Pollitt still had time for another smart stop, advancing to thwart Cole at the end of a thrilling individual thrust that threatened a second Chelsea goal. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Independent: Chelsea 1 Wigan 0: Terry's head for heights lifts Chelsea By Steve Tongue at Stamford Bridge Wigan Athletic's chairman, Dave Whelan, wants a salary cap to prevent Chelsea dominating English football as comprehensively as his town's team once did rugby league, but some sort of points handicap is the only thing that will stop them retaining the Premiership title this season. With two for a Chelsea win, for instance, they would be trailing only Liverpool and Manchester United at the head of the table. As things stand, the lead is 12 points and counting. This ninth home win out of nine was one of the more mundane ones, achieved by the minimum margin while preserving a sixth successive clean sheet in all competitions. Wigan did not threaten to dirty the laundry with a single shot on target, though they held out for over an hour, resisting as doggedly as expected before accepting a fourth defeat on the bounce to follow those by Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool. With Manchester United to come at Old Trafford on Wednesday, it is a sadistically testing run. After offering a glamorous welcome to the big league with Chelsea's visit in August (Hernan Crespo scoring the sole goal only in added time), the fixture computer was kind for a while; not that anyone expected the run of eight wins and a draw from nine games that propelled the newcomers to second place in the table. Since then the going has got tough and, tough as they are, Wigan have not been able to get going again. The admirable Paul Jewell is not dispirited, though he was annoyed to concede a winning goal from a corner, when Lee McCulloch allowed John Terry to burst past him. "The first game of the season they beat us with a wonder goal, but this was a 'gimme' goal," he said. "We forced them to change their shape and we put in a good stint, but it's a harsh lesson." He was also upset that at one stage Chelsea declined to return the ball after it had been played into touch because of an injury. But Jose Mourinho claimed that was on his orders because the Wigan player concerned was not hurt. "We know what fair play is but we are not stupid," he said. "The player was cheating. It happened two metres in front of me. And I would do it again." So one way and another, Wigan found getting possession off Chelsea difficult all afternoon. With one eye on another daunting fixture in midweek, and one looking back critically at the 3-0 defeat at Liverpool last weekend, Jewell made four changes to his line-up, including the demotion of Jimmy Bullard after 123 consecutive appearances and a first Premiership match in almost 10 years for Matt Jackson, once of Everton, at centre-half. Mourinho also swapped a quartet around and made a further change at half-time after a first 45 minutes of few clear chances. Joe Cole, for once in his favoured position just behind the attack, created the first by zipping away from Stéphane Henchoz and forcing Mike Pollitt to parry at full stretch. A desperate McCulloch held Terry by the arms, the waist and finally the legs without being punished to prevent Chelsea's captain reaching a free-kick. Then Asier del Horno took a free-kick before Wigan were organised, Leighton Baines scrambling back to clear off the line from the unmarked Crespo. The visitors were happy enough at the interval, despite leaving Carlo Cudicini underemployed in only his second Premiership appearance of the season. He watched a 25-yard volley by Graham Kavanagh drift wide and held one cross under rarely exerted pressure. Mourinho, less pleased with the way things were going, changed tack at the start of the second half by sending on Didier Drogba in place of the injured Damien Duff to link up for once with Crespo. Reward almost materialised within 90 seconds, Michael Essien picking out Drogba for a shot from 10 yards that struck the goalkeeper's legs. The manager still did not like the balance and next put on Eidur Gudjohnsen for Arjen Robben to play behind the front two. That experiment lasted just long enough for Chelsea to grab a goal, whereupon Mourinho immediately pulled Crespo off for another defensive midfielder, Géremi. For all the firepower, there had been no further scoring opportunities before, in the 68th minute, Frank Lampard's corner found the thrusting head of his trusty England colleague Terry. Pollitt got both hands to the ball but could only help it on its irresistible way.