wigan 1-1

Independent:

Wigan Athletic 1 Chelsea 1: Chelsea lose chance to make up ground on top two after Sturridge's opener scoring
STEVE TONGUE DW STADIUM

On a ground where they won 6-0 last season, Chelsea found the going far harder yesterday evening and were denied a victory that would have cut the gap on second-placed Manchester United to two points and Manchester City to four ahead of today's games involving the leading pair.
Daniel Sturridge further enhanced his burgeoning reputation with a well taken goal in the second half before Wigan's late rally brought an equaliser from Jordi Gomez that even Chelsea's manager Andre Villas-Boas admitted they deserved. It leaves Roberto Martinez's team in the bottom three but with the bonus of defeats for Lancastrian rivals in distress Blackburn and Bolton this was a welcome start to a demanding programme that brings games with Liverpool and United next.
From a run that brought nine successive defeats in all competitions, Martinez has reshaped his troops and instilled new belief in them too, leading to successive away victories and now a point against a side he called "one of the elite teams of world football". Chelsea did not live up to that billing and on the long journey home last night must have been bitterly regretting the failure to steal a march on the teams around them.
Villas-Boas was forced to admit that they lacked creativity and penetration, which was why he took off Oriol Romeu at half-time and changed to a 4-2-3-1 formation. It appeared to have paid off with Sturridge's goal, but the gamble to sit back thereafter was flawed, allowing Wigan to gain the initiative for the first time after an ineffective first half.
"We could have gone on for the second goal but decided to hold on and try to exploit the spaces," the manager said. They failed in both objectives and paid a heavy price after a rare lapse by Petr Cech for the equalising goal. Martinez was understandably delighted, all the more so since his team had folded to a 4-0 defeat after conceding the first goal in their last home game against Arsenal. "If you concede like that and accept it then you give the game up" he said. There was never any chance of that and his double substitution in bringing on the strikers Franco Di Santo – against his old club – and Hugo Rodallega proved crucial.
Four successive Chelsea victories appeared to have restored any flagging confidence and early on the visitors flowed forward confidently with Sturridge particularly threatening. That meant that David Jones, nominally one of the wing-backs in Wigan's unusual 3-4-2-1 formation, was forced backwards when he would have wanted to be pushing on. By half-time Chelsea had nevertheless been restricted to shots from distance, mostly by defensive players. Romeu, now established in the holding role, hit the first and Terry the second, both going the wrong side of a post. The same fate befell the closest effort of the opening half, when Raul Meireles crossed for Didier Drogba to stoop for a brave low header from six yards.
Apart from a drive by Mohamed Diamé, also wide – though not by much – Wigan were dependent on the referee Martin Atkinson awarding them a penalty, which to the crowd's fury he was notably reluctant to do. A collision between Ashley Cole and Gomez early on brought the first optimistic shouts and there seemed to be merit in the appeals when Branislav Ivanovic blocked a fierce shot by Victor Moses with his arm just before the interval.
For the second half Villas-Boas brought on Salomon Kalou, moving Frank Lampard – who had returned for the injured Ramires after being dropped – and Meireles deeper. Lampard continued to see plenty of the ball and knock it around intelligentlybut it was further forward that Chelsea needed some inspiration. It came at last when he was off the field having prolonged treatment for a bang in the face. Ashley Cole carried the ball forward to a position just inside the Wigan half then played a perfect diagonal pass over the retreating defence for Sturridge, who took it down with his left foot and shot low across Ali Al Habsi into the far corner.
This time Wigan refused to submit and took control for the first time. Maynor Figueroa, culpable in not tracking Sturridge closely enough for the goal, hit a left-footed shot from 25 yards that Cech had to push round the post for his first save of the night and suddenly the defence were looking vulnerable. They survived one bizarre incident in which Rodallega was foiled by Cech, who was lying on the ground as Di Santo had a follow-up shot headed off the line by Ivanovic. And with two minutes left Cech failed wretchedly to hold a toe-poke from the left by Rodallega, Gomez tapping in for his fourth goal in five games.

Wigan (3-4-2-1): Al Habsi; Caldwell, Alcatraz, Figuero; Stam, Diame, McCarthy, Jones (Rodallega, 72); Moses, Gomez; Sammon (Di Santo, 73).

Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech; Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Terry, Cole; Lampard, Romeu (Kalou, h-t), Meireles; Sturridge (Malouda, 80), Drogba, Mata (Mikel, 66).

Referee Martin Atkinson.
Man of the match Sturridge (Chelsea).
Match rating 7/10.


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Observer:

Jordi Gómez grabs late Wigan Athletic equaliser to foil Chelsea
Paul Wilson at the DW Stadium

A dramatic late equaliser by Jordi Gómez robbed Chelsea of two points just when an efficient if uninspiring performance seemed to have preserved their winning habit. In a pulsating game on a cold night and a wet pitch neither side truly deserved to lose, but Wigan will undoubtedly be more pleased with their point than Chelsea, who played well enough to put suggestions of disunity or unrest to bed but not well enough to close out the victory that Daniel Sturridge's splendid opening goal seemed to have earned.
"We just let it slip in the end," André Villas-Boas acknowledged. "But this is a different Wigan, they have picked up momentum from recent results. It's disappointing, but we have to put it behind us and focus on a massive game against Tottenham on Thursday."
Wigan have been showing signs of life of late, briefly climbing out of the bottom three as a result of back-to-back away wins at Sunderland and West Brom, though they have not won on their own ground since beating a still shaky Queens Park Rangers back in August. Picking up points against a Chelsea side beginning to look lean and businesslike again seemed a tall order.
"We frustrated Chelsea for most of the game," Roberto Martínez said. "It was disappointing to go behind. That was the only real piece of quality they produced and it led to their only shot on target."
Despite their lowly league position, the home side began with confidence and verve. Victor Moses tricked the Chelsea defence in the opening five minutes and Gómez had a penalty appeal against Ashley Cole turned down, probably correctly as he seemed to be seeking a decision rather than threatening the Chelsea goal. Wigan were somewhat oddly set up, with David Jones detailed to follow Daniel Sturridge and Mohamed Diamé only notionally operating on the right wing, leaving only Ronnie Stam regularly covering the flank where Juan Mata and Cole found unexpected freedom.
When Didier Drogba turned up in the wide open spaces on the left in the 12th minute it led to Chelsea's first attack of note, though ideally Drogba would have been in the middle to meet Mata's cross instead of the less imposing Sturridge.
Wigan were managing to keep Chelsea at bay. The visitors' best efforts of the first half-hour were a speculative shot from 25 yards by John Terry that flew narrowly wide and an effort from a similar distance by Oriol Romeu that Ali al-Habsi tipped round a post, though by the mid-point of the first half the home side were being penned in their own half and struggling to get hold of the ball.
For all Chelsea's control of the game they created very few chances, perhaps exhausted after their efforts in defeating Manchester City on Monday. Five minutes before the interval, Wigan were unable to close down Raul Meireles in time to prevent him crossing for Drogba at the far post, but the striker could only manage a stooping header that went the wrong side of the post.
Wigan's conviction that they were not getting any of the marginal decisions from Martin Atkinson increased when Moses saw a shot stopped on the line by Branislav Ivanovic. The referee immediately waved play on, despite a strong suggestion that the ball had hit the defender on the arm. Replays confirmed that it had, though it was not a raised arm and Ivanovic would have had difficulty getting out of the way.
The Wigan main stand gave Atkinson a spontaneous standing ovation when he finally blew for a foul on Moses minutes later. With the same striker narrowly failing to reach a Jones cross on the stroke of the interval in what was probably the first half's clearest chance, the home side could feel more than encouraged by reaching the break level. Moses continued to pose problems for the Chelsea defence in the second half with his control and tricky turns, even if his finishing and decision-making was not always as sound.
At one point he flicked the ball over two Chelsea defenders to leave himself with only Petr Cech to beat from inside the six-yard box, only to fire a volley that went out for a throw-in.
Drogba hit the side-netting with Chelsea's best chance after Salomon Kalou had escaped Antolín Alcaraz to skip to the goal-line, before the visitors finally opened up Wigan with a classy move to take the lead just before the hour mark.
Cole advanced to half way on the left and sent a diagonal ball forward to pick out Sturridge's run into the box from the opposite wing. Simultaneously bringing the ball down and getting goal-side of what little remained of Wigan's defensive cover, Sturridge managed a decisive finish to beat Habsi from a narrow angle.
The goal was all the more remarkable for coming at a stage when Chelsea were down to 10 men, Frank Lampard having temporarily left the field for treatment after being accidentally struck by Diamé.
Wigan kept to their task, Jones sending a shot over the bar and Maynor Figueroa bringing a save from Cech. Villas-Boas was sufficiently concerned to make a defensive substitution to protect what he had, replacing Mata with Mikel John Obi. Martínez responded by throwing on two more attackers in Hugo Rodallega and Franco Di Santo to chase the game, the latter bringing a sensational headed clearance off the line from Ivanovic after Cech had been caught out of position.
Never completely convincing, Cech was at fault again for the late equaliser, allowing Rodallega's shot to squirm out of his grasp for Gómez to sweep home.
It was nothing less than the home side deserved, even if Chelsea must have thought they had done enough to seal a victory. "We could have kept the ball better in the last moments," a resigned but fair Villas-Boas admitted. "But Wigan had the momentum by then and they got the goal and the point they deserved."


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Telegraph:

Wigan Athletic 1 Chelsea 1
By Duncan White, at DW Stadium

Just when Chelsea had began to build momentum, they found it checked where they least expected it.
In their last three games against Wigan Athletic Chelsea had won with a cumulative score of 15-0 and came up here expecting more generosity of the season. Roberto Martinez’s side had different ideas.
Chelsea had led this game through Daniel Sturridge’s technically accomplished finish – his 19th goal of the calendar year – but Wigan had been more than a match for the visitors throughout.
There was resolve and courage in the way they played and their continued appetite for the fight brought them a late equaliser.
Jordi Gomez prodded in from close range after Hugo Rodallega had forced an error out of Petr Cech. That point could be invaluable when the reckoning is tallied next summer.
Roberto Martinez knew he had to change something if he was to avoid defeat to a Chelsea side buoyant after their victory over Manchester City.
He sent his team out in a robust 5-3-2, starting very deep and hoping to suffocate the space in midfield when Chelsea had the ball and counter-attack quickly when they won it back.
Martinez’s approach was brave and imaginative and, once his players had settled into it, gave a jaded-looking Chelsea plenty of problems.
Without the direct running of Ramires, missing this game through injury, Chelsea struggled to penetrate the Wigan ranks.
They were restricted to moments of individual inspiration. Sturridge was full of twists, tricks and turns on the right but could not quite deliver the right final ball.
John Terry hit a remarkable shot from range that had Ali Al Habsi at full stretch while the Bahrain goalkeeper had to tip Oriol Romeu’s effort around the post at full stretch after Chelsea’s young holding midfielder meet a Wigan clearance with an accurate volley.
Having survived the first half an hour, Wigan began to grow in confidence. Victor Moses, brash and pacy, was starting to look dangerous and Conor Sammon seemed less intimidated after having turned neatly past Terry.
Mohamed Diame even gave Petr Cech a nervous moment when his ferociously struck outswinger whistled past his far post.
Chelsea were swiftly back in possession. Camped outside the Wigan box and allowed the time and space to leisurely pick his pass, Raul Meireles sent a pitching-wedge pass into the six yard box which Drogba met with a diving header, sending the ball just wide of the far post.
Despite the non-appearance of the promised dancing troupe (pitch too muddy), there was plenty of action at the break.
On came a horde of ground staff to try to prod the pitch back into a respectable state while Chelsea’s fitness coach Jose Mario Rocha put Salomon Kalou through a humiliating one-on-one dance routine in anticipation of his arrival.
So we were entertained after all. Romeu was the man to make way as Villas-Boas sought a tactical answer to his team’s frustration, trying to find more width.
The trade-off was that, with out Romeu, Wigan might find space of their own. Gomez hit a shot into the side-netting early into the second half while Moses impudently flicked the ball up for himself not once but twice in the Chelsea box. Shame about the wild effort to finish.
The game was much more lively with Chelsea’s increased intensity and Wigan’s growing ambition.
Kalou did superbly to wriggle down the by-line and find Drogba and the Ivorian’s outside of the boot effort was so close that the ripple of the side-netting deceived the away fans into celebration.
They got to celebrate for real moments later. Chelsea were actually down to 10 men with as Frank Lampard was off the field getting treatment for a bloody lip sustained in a clash with Diame.
Ashley Cole edged forward into the Wigan half and, spying Sturridge’s run, sent a long diagonal ball into the area. Wigan tamed the ball with his first touch and then struck the ball crisply with his – supposedly weaker – right foot low and past Al Habsi from a narrow angle.
It was a compliment to Wigan that Villas-Boas then replaced the subdued Mata with John Obi Mikel to try to tighten things up.
With Maynor Figeroa drawing a good save out of Cech and James McCarthy’s shot swerving wide you could see why he feared the equaliser.
They went even closer with 15 minutes to go. Cech did well to race out and get to the ball ahead of substitute Hugo Rodallega.
The loose ball went to Gomez whose heavy touch denied him the chance to shoot into the empty net. The ball rolled to Franco di Santo, though, and he turned and shot, only for Ivanovic to divert the ball behind with his head.
Wigan, though, carried on pressing and with three minutes left they finally got their goal. Hugo Rodallega got in the wrong side of Jose Bosingwa and his low shot was fumbled by Cech straight into the path of Gomez. He made no mistake.

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Mail:
Wigan 1 Chelsea 1: Gomez pounces to land late blow on AVB and check Blues revival

Chelsea let relegation favourites Wigan snatch an unlikely 88th-minute equaliser with a comedy of errors at the DW Stadium. Instead of putting Premier League leaders Manchester City under pressure at the top, Andre Villas-Boas must hold a major dressing- room inquest into how Jordi Gomez was allowed to snatch a dramatic leveller.
Goalkeeper Petr Cech was clearly at fault, allowing a tame scuff from Hugo Rodallega to squirm out of his hands and bounce off his knee into Gomez's path. But others were culpable, too. Jose Bosingwa should not have allowed Rodallega to get his shot away in the first place and Ashley Cole seemed to get in his keeper's way as he bent to pick up the ball.
AVB himself will also have to answer questions, having made a negative substitution as soon as Daniel Sturridge had given his side the lead after an hour, taking off his most creative player, Juan Mata, for a holding midfielder John Obi Mikel.
The result was a draw and instead of being only two points behind Manchester United and four behind City this morning, Chelsea could be nine points off the pace by Sunday night.
The feelgood factor garnered by Monday's win against City has evaporated.
'We could have gone for the second goal but we preferred to hang on to what we had,' admitted Villas-Boas candidly.
'It was three points we expected. We won't blame any individual for the equaliser. We had plenty of players back but there was a loss of concentration. We seemed to lose track of our keeper's position.'
Villas-Boas has made big decisions all season but they did not work out for him yesterday.
Frank Lampard was recalled in place of the injured Ramires but was largely anonymous.
Lampard was not even on the pitch when Chelsea scored their goal, receiving treatment on a cut lip when it happened.
Poor Fernando Torres was kept shivering on the bench for 90 minutes, seeing first Salomon Kalou, then Mikel and finally Florent Malouda sent on ahead of him.
In retrospect, perhaps the £50million striker should have been given the chance to score Chelsea's second goal but he has played just 23 minutes for AVB this month.
Chelsea's anguish was Wigan's delight. Nobody gave Roberto Martinez's team a prayer but they might have won it had referee Martin Atkinson ruled Branislav Ivanovic's first-half hand-ball as deliberate.
'We lost eight games in a row earlier in the season, so to come through a test like that shows huge character,' said Martinez.
'It feels like this team are just beginning to know each other and understand each other.'
Wigan narrowly edged the first 45 minutes. In the most contentious moment of the half, a Victor Moses shot struck Ivanovic on the forearm but Atkinson ruled it ball to hand.
Chelsea knew they had to up their game and Villas-Boas threw on Kalou for Oriol Romeu at the interval. Didier Drogba showed urgency and fired into the side netting.
Lampard's evening had not gone as planned and he was off the field receiving treatment for a badly cut mouth when Chelsea went ahead.
The England midfielder was behind Mohamed Diame when the big Wigan player leaned back and accidentally caught him in the face with the back of his head.
The spillage meant the Chelsea man had to come off temporarily to get cleaned up. And while Lampard was indisposed, Chelsea scored a goal that was ruthlessly executed.
Wigan stood off Cole just inside their own half and the England leftback pinged a terrific diagonal pass to Sturridge, just inside the angle of the penalty area.
Sturridge then showed why he is a serious contender for Fabio Capello's Euro 2012 squad. His first touch brought the ball under control and gave him enough room to shoot. His second was an unerring finish across Al-Habsi into the bottom corner. It was Sturridge's ninth goal of the season to make him Chelsea's top scorer this campaign.
In front of the dugout, Cole, Drogba and Terry hugged each other and yelped in celebration. On the bench, Torres shivered. No sooner had Chelsea scored than AVB brought on Mikel to provide extra defensive insurance. But the move backfired as Martinez threw on two strikers, Franco Di Santo and Rodallega, and Chelsea started backpedalling.
Di Santo almost levelled after Cech raced from his goal and needed Ivanovic to head away the striker's goalbound shot. And when Sturridge rolled around soon after, Wigan became convinced their illustrious visitors were using gamesmanship to get over the line.
If that was the plan, and remember Villas-Boas learned at the side of the master of dark arts, Jose Mourinho, it did not work. Chelsea had too many men back and they got in each other's way as Gomez scored.
So the two youngest managers in the Premier League shared the spoils. But while Martinez, 38, may feel he can keep Wigan up, the odds on Villas-Boas, 34, winning the league title are lengthening.


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Mirror:

Wigan 1-1 Chelsea
By Derick Allsop

Petr Cech was handing out Christmas presents as Chelsea tossed away three points at the DW Stadium.
The visitors were cruising to a win that would have closed the gap on the two Manchester clubs at the summit of the Premier League.
But then the fallibility in the Chelsea defence – so often exposed this season – returned. They failed to block Hugo Rodallega’s run into the penalty area. That was bad enough.
The way Cech fumbled his shot was calamity goalkeeping of the most embarrassing order. And Jordi Gomez popped up to tap home his fourth goal in five games to earn relegation-threatened Wigan a precious point.
Cue a frantic finale in which the home side sensed they might even snatch a momentous victory.
Daniel Sturridge had earlier given Chelsea the lead with a touch of class, but Wigan refused to lie down and came back to regain parity with a stirring finish.
Roberto Martinez’s side felt aggreived they had not been awarded a first-half penalty and eventually a mesaure of justice was one.
After fending off the hounds and reaffirming their Premier League title intentions by ending Manchester City’s unbeaten start to the season, Chelsea arrived here anticipating nothing short of three more points.
They won 6-0 in the corresponding fixture last season and Wigan collapsed in the face of another A-list team, Arsenal, in their last home match.
But Wigan manager Roberto Martinez is nothing if not optimistic and, on the back of consecutive away victories, he insisted that a positive approach – allied to more resilient defending – could ensure them something from this daunting encounter.
Not surprisingly, the Spaniard stuck with side successful at West Brom the previous week, while Andre Villas-Boas acknowledged Frank Lampard’s decisive contribution against City by naming him in Chelsea’s starting line-up for injured Ramires. Out-of-sorts striker Fernando Torres (above) was again on the bench.
Wigan’s revived confidence was evident in the early play, although a hopeful penalty appeal was ­emphatically rejected by referee Martin Atkinson. Chelsea gradually dominated possession without ­immediate success and were limited to a long range effort from John Terry, which drifted harmlessly wide of Ali Al Habsi’s goal.
The Wigan goalkeeper had to react to Oriol Romeu’s 30-yard volley and duly turned the ball around his right-hand post.
Juan Mata and Daniel Sturridge repeatedly probed the wings and tested Wigan’s back three with their crosses only for Gary Caldwell and Co. to stand defiant.
Victor Moses darted into the Chelsea area to earn a corner and suddenly lift the home support. Mohamed Diame gave the Londoners a little more concern with a shot across goal.
The threat was enough to move Didier Drogba to demand more from his team-mates. For all their poise on the ball and movement off it, they hadn’t offered the big striker a chance on goal. His pleas clearly worked. Rual Meireles swung in a centre from deep on the right and Drogba went close with a lunging header.
Wigan’s response was bold and, they believed, worthy of a penalty. Moses drove the ball on target and it struck Branislav Ivanovic on the arm. But again, referee Atkinson was unmoved.
Villa-Boas brought on Salomon Kalou for Romeu at the start of the second half and he instantly forced a corner with a jinking run.
Wigan survived again and Cech had to field a shot from Maynor Figueroa. Moses threatened again juggling the ball into the six yard box yet ultimately making nothing of the half chance.
The energetic Kalou made more in-roads down the left and picked out Drogba who tried to improvise but stabbed the ball off target.
That miss was soon forgotten, however, when Chelsea produced a goal of the highest order.
Ashley Cole spotted the run of Sturridge, whose control was superb, and his finish even better.
But then David Jones charged through to shoot wide before the ever-adventurous Figueroa brought Cech into action.
But with the clock ticking down the home side got the goal they craved to further dent Chelsea’s title ambitions.
VERDICT: On a day in which both Manchester clubs were out of action, Gomez's late strike for Wigan will have been a real blow for Andre Villas-Boas' attempts to out pressure on the top two.
***
THE BIG ISSUE: Will Roman Abramovich allow Andre Villas-Boas a transitional, trophyless season?
It is always a guessing game when it comes to affairs at the Bridge because the owner’s intentions tend to be leaked only when he feels inclined to do so.
He took a huge gamble when he shipped out an experienced, serial winner and appointed AVB, and time will tell whether it is the second coming of the Special One.
But the Silent One will not relish being proved wrong and logic suggests he will be prepared to give his young manager a minimum of one full season to reshape the Chelsea team in his own image and likeness.
At the very least, the owner will expect his club to secure Champions League qualification and make their presence felt at the business end of the season.
A trophy would simply confirm AVB’s position.


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Sun:

Wigan 1 Chelsea 1

JORDI GOMEZ pounced on Petr Cech's howler two minutes from time to put the breaks on Chelsea's revival.Daniel Sturridge had given Andre Villas-Boas' men the lead with a stunning 59th-minute strike.But Cech spilt Hugo Rodallega's tame cross in the dying stages to hand Wigan a simple leveller.
Chelsea had put SIX past Wigan here last term — yet the Latics had the edge in the early exchanges.
The home fans were shouting for a penalty when Gomez went down under pressure from Ashley Cole but ref Martin Atkinson waved play away.
Gary Caldwell then blocked a dangerous cross from Sturridge before John Terry tried his luck from 30 yards.
Chelsea were settling in now and almost broke through when Ali Al Habsi saved Oriol Romeu's 23rd-minute volley.
At the other end, a Wigan period of pressure ended with Mohamed Diame gunning a shot narrowly wide.
Didier Drogba had a sniff seven minutes before the break but the veteran hitman nodded Raul Meireles' cross wide.
Wigan had another penalty shout when Branislav Ivanovic blocked Victor Moses' shot with his arm — but Atkinson was once again having none of it.
And Roberto Martinez's men ended the half on the up when Moses just missed David Jones' dangerous low cross.
Villas-Boas threw Salomon Kalou into the mix after the break, with Romeu making way.
And the Ivory Coast star almost made an instant impact with a slalom run and shot that was blocked by Ronnie Stam.
Moses was the main threat to the Blues and his brilliant ball-juggling act was followed with a shot that just crept wide.
Instead, it was Chelsea who broke the deadlock thanks to Sturridge's sizzling effort.
Cole made tracks into Wigan territory and picked out the striker in the Latics' box.
Sturridge brought it down first time, picked his spot and lashed it past Al Habsi.
Maynor Figueroa came close to an instant leveller but Cech tipped his shot wide.
Chelsea then had their hearts in their mouths when Terry went down cluthcing his knee.
However, the magic sponge did the job and the Blues' captain was thrown back into action.
Wigan almost grabbed an equaliser in a nerve-shredding minute following Branislav Ivanovic's blunder.
The defender sent a hospital pass back to Cech, who scrambled the ball clear under pressure from Hugo Rodallega.
With the keeper stranded, Franco di Santo tried his luck — and his shot would have gone in had Ivanovic not redeemed himself with a stunning header behind.
There was time for more drama, however, and Cech's blooper gifted Gomez a leveller.
And Wigan could have even had a late spot-kick after Di Santo tangled with Chelsea's Jose Bosingwa.

Wigan: Al Habsi, Caldwell, Alcaraz, Figueroa, Stam, Jones (Rodallega 72), Diame, McCarthy, Moses, Gomez, Sammon (Di Santo 73). Subs Not Used: Pollitt, Gohouri, Crusat, Watson, McArthur.
Goals: Gomez 88.

Chelsea: Cech, Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Terry, Cole, Romeu (Kalou 46), Lampard, Meireles, Sturridge (Malouda 80),Drogba, Mata (Mikel 66). Subs Not Used: Turnbull, Torres, Ferreira, McEachran.
Goals: Sturridge 59.
Att: 18,320
Ref: Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire).

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Star:

WIGAN 1 CHELSEA 1: MY SWEET JORD Wigan boss Roberto MartinezI will probably be disappointed tomorrow that we didn’t get three points
By Paul Hetherington

JORDI GOMEZ stunned Chelsea with an equaliser two minutes from time last night.
Daniel Sturridge’s ninth goal of the season looked like giving Chelsea their fourth successive league win.
But when Chelsea keeper Petr Cech failed to hold Hugo Rodallega’s effort, Gomez was on hand to give Wigan a deserved point.
Wigan boss Roberto Martinez admitted: “I will probably be disappointed tomorrow that we didn’t get three points.
“That was a perfect performance from us. We lost eight games in a row and we needed to gain some momentum.
“Now, we have that understanding you need as a team and we played with a real belief.”
The Latics went into battle with their survival hopes lifted by their away form.
While Wigan men have struggled at the DW Stadium, they faced Chelsea having won their last two games on their travels.
Victories at Sunderland and West Brom had lifted Wigan off the bottom of the table. And they felt they had an early case for a penalty, when Gomez went down in the box after being challenged by Ashley Cole.
The well-positioned referee, Martin Atkinson, however, did not agree.
But with Sturridge having joy down the right flank, Chelsea were soon on top.
Skipper John Terry sent a long-range effort across the face of the goal and just wide.
And midfielder Oriol Romeu was denied by Wigan keeper Ali Al Habsi, when Chelsea tried again from distance.
Too often, Chelsea’s final ball wasn’t precise enough.
But when Raul Meireles produced a fine delivery from the right, the diving Didier Drogba saw his header travel just wide.
Wigan and their fans weren’t happy with Atkinson’s decision-making.
They felt they had another case for a penalty four minutes from half-time, when a Victor Moses drive hit Branislav Ivanovic on the arm.
But as the Chelsea defender had his arms down, the referee once again ruled it was not a spot-kick. His view, presumably, was that it was a case of ball to arm, rather than hand to ball.
Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas adopted a positive attacking approach from the beginning of the second half.Striker Salomon Kalou came on to replace defensive midfielder Romeu.
But Moses cleverly created an opportunity for himself, only to waste it by blazing wildly across the face of the goal.
With Frank Lampard – in for the injured Ramires – off the field to receive attention to a facial injury, Chelsea took the lead in the 59th minute.
Cole’s long ball was superbly control- led by Sturridge, who then fired a right- foot shot across Al Habsi and into the far corner.
When Wigan tried to hit back quickly, Maynor Figueroa was denied by Cech’s fine save.
Wigan kept battling to the end and Gomez added the finishing touch.
Villas-Boas insisted: “There were collective mistakes and Wigan made the most of our lack of concentration.
“Our confidence is not affected and it was a fair result.
“We didn’t get the three points we could have got and thought we could get, but we will have to see the other results over the next 24 hours to see where we stand.
“It’s always a battle in the Premier League and we now have a massive game against Tottenham. Wigan fought hard and deserved their equaliser.”

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People:

Wigan 1 - 1 Chelsea: Cech lets two precious points slip through his fingers
by Alan Nixon

Petr CECH let two precious points slip through his fingers as Chelsea paid a heavy price for complacency.
Keeper Cech made a real hash of stopping sub Hugo Rodallega’s scuffed shot with a couple of minutes left and watched the ball squirm from his grasp.
A hard-earned win vanished asdelighted Spaniard Jordi Gomez stabbed in an equaliser that the lively Latics deserve for a gutsy performance but thought had gone.
The mistake from the Czech – shaken up just before by a tackle on Rodallega – summed up the slipshod show from the Stamford Bridge side who blew their chance and were never on their game.
Until that feeble fumble Chelsea were grateful to Daniel Sturridge.
Sturridge was on his way to the north west as the calendar flicked over, a loanee at Bolton and unsure about where his future lay after a couple of seasons of Stamford Bridge frustration.
But now – as Andre Villas-Boas builds a brave new Chelsea world – there is one lad on the centre stage and dragging some of his senior mates along with him.
Villas-Boas saw that Sturridge was the right stuff when he took over and the way he has put him in from the start is probably the Portugeezer’s biggest triumph so far.
Sturridge paid back that faith with his latest major contribution.
He controlled a fabulous long ball from Ashley Cole with the kind of technique that marks him out from most of his contemporaries.
And the confidence of the kid, who should spend next summer in England’s starting line-up, was there to see with the punishing finish.
The angle was tight and Ali Al Habsi had to be beaten, but a crisp drive flew into the net under the delighted noses of the Chelsea travelling support.
And how Villas-Boas needed that one as his team laboured for so long, looking nothing like the side that ended Manchester City’s unbeaten run.
Chelsea had the air of a side that thought they only had to turn up to collect the points, while the Latics fought for their lives.
These games have been painfullyone-sided of late, but that was not the script this time round as Roberto Martinez’s men made a real go of it.
Wigan yelled for a penalty when Jordi Gomez fell over Ashley Cole but the appeals were met with disdain by referee Martin Atkinson – and a snarl from England’s fesity full-back.
There was more justifiable home indignation when Branoslav Ivanovic tried to behead danger man Victor Moses. The challenge deserved abooking but the Serb got off.
Slackness
Chelsea needed the class of Sturridge to wake them up. He was double-marked but still had the skill to cause chaos with a run and cross.
Young Oriol Romeu hit the target with a controlled and crafty 30-yarder but Al Habsi was alert and turned the shot round the post.
But there was a bit of slackness about Chelsea despite the promptings of Frank Lampard, restored to the starting line-up.
Cech showed signs of complacency with a kick-out that almost handed Moses an early present, but the young forward failed to make him pay.
Cavalier centre-back Antolin Alcaraz was close to heading in a corner before Mohamed Diame flashed a screamer past the far post as Wigan matched their big-name rivals.
Wigan did retreat towards their own box a bit too much, but Chelsea found the midfield too cluttered for their liking and showed a surprise lack of invention.
Juan Mata pinged the odd long ball that promised but it was one of those days when Didier Drogba cried out for more help in the middle.
Drogba’s diving header from Raul Meireles’ astute cross before the break was the big target man’s first real chance to break the deadlock.
Even a side with Wigan’s defensive deficiencies coped quite well with the predictable stuff they faced – as Villas-Boas looked on and wondered what change to make.
It could have got worse as Moses slammed a shot goalwards and Ivanovic blocked the drive with his arm,with Latics denied a penalty on half time.
TV replays showed that ref Atkinson could easily have pointed to the spot and the home fans howled at yet another key call going against them this season.
Danger man Moses was inches from connecting and Gomez hit the side-net as Wigan kept up their surprise bid for one of the results of the campaign.
Villas-Boas went on the front foot to his credit and put on Salomon Kalou, but the home tails were up and the game just got harder.
Chelsea were in real discomfort and nobody more than Lampard who took an accidental blow to the nose from Diame. Sturridge showed why he is the new go-to guy with a quite brilliant finish that made a nonsense of what had gone before.
Cech needed treatment after a collision with Rodallega before gifting Wigan and unlikely point.

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