wigan 2-1

Independent:

Martinez furious over Chelsea's offside goals
Chelsea 2 Wigan Athletic 1: Wigan's manager rues 'clear calls against us' after costly last-ditch defeat

Glenn Moore

Roberto Martinez is normally one of the Premier League's more reasoned voices but his patience was stretched beyond breaking point yesterday as he saw his team condemned to remain in the relegation zone by a brace of offside goals.
The Wigan manager called the performance of the referee's assistant Dave Bryan "disgusting", before intimating that he felt it was easier for officials to give decisions against "little clubs" like Wigan. That Bryan failed to raise his flag after Chelsea's winning goal, an injury-time fluke by Juan Mata from a crowded goalmouth, was perhaps understandable. Even Martinez admitted it was a tight call. However, his failure to spot that Branislav Ivanovic was offside before scoring Chelsea's 62nd-minute first was, said Martinez, "not a difficult decision".
"That goal is clearly offside, one-and-a-half yards offside," he said. "You expect those decisions to be given. We have a feeling of injustice. I felt sorry for the referee [Mike Jones]. He relies upon his linesman. The linesman had worried me before as he got easy calls wrong. I was asked if we need technology. No. We need linesmen who know the rules. I don't want to get into the debate that it is easy to give decisions against "little Wigan", but too many times this season there have been clear calls against us."
Chelsea's interim head coach, Roberto Di Matteo, improbably claimed that he had not seen replays (despite speaking an hour after the final whistle), but admitted: "Wigan were really unlucky today."
And yet Bryan was not the only villain, for Wigan's Gary Caldwell could have won the game – or at least prevented Wigan from losing it. Three minutes into added time, with the scores level, Mohamed Diamé having spectacularly cancelled out Ivanovic's goal, Wigan broke forward. Caldwell charged into attack and Ben Watson's floated a cross towards the centre-half. Perhaps emboldened by his well-taken winner at Anfield a fortnight ago, the Scot did not go for goal but chose instead to try to bring the ball down. The chance was lost and Chelsea broke forward at speed.
As Caldwell sprinted back the man he should have been marking, Fernando Torres, was picked out unmarked at the far post by Didier Drogba. Torres' volley struck the far post and rebounded in off Mata.
A point would have taken Wigan out of the bottom three for the first time since September. Instead Chelsea climbed back above Newcastle United into fifth place, two points behind Arsenal in the fourth-and-final Champions League spot.
With Di Matteo making seven changes as he attempted to manage his squads energy levels, unchanged Wigan often looked the more cohesive side. They had won one and lost 10 of their previous 13 league meetings with Chelsea but a recent run of one defeat in eight matches had bred confidence.
For more than half-an-hour Chelsea were restricted to long-range efforts, with a Gary Cahill drive tipped over by Ali Al Habsi and Drogba rifling a low shot just past the far post. It was not until Chelsea began to move the ball and get Mata on the ball in advanced areas that they began to create chances. Eight minutes before the break Ryan Bertrand and Drogba combined the send in the Spaniard. Al Habsi blocked Mata's shot, Drogba headed the rebound goalwards and Maynor Figueroa cleared off the line. Then in injury-time Malouda played a one-two with Mata and delivered a cross from which Drogba drew a smart save from Al Habsi.
Mata continued to be the game's prime creative force after the break, finding Drogba only for the striker to be denied by the Omani goalkeeper. Aside from Mata Chelsea's most likely man was Ivanovic with his driving runs from right-back and it was a free-kick awarded for a foul on the Serb by Shaun Maloney that led to the breakthrough. Mata's delivery was half-cleared but Cahill returned the ball and Ivanovic stabbed it in. Wigan surrounded the officials but they were unmoved.
Wigan's response was bold, Martinez throwing on forwards. They should have paid for their adventure in the 79th minute but Daniel Sturridge attempted a difficult finish instead of squaring to Torres. Sturridge is developing a reputation for greed and the crowd jeered him then and when Di Matteo withdrew him soon after. Diamé then drifted away from Bertrand and buried a shot past Petr Cech from 20 yards. Wigan had a point, but they sensed three, only to end with none.

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Luiz, Bertrand; Essien (Mikel, 74), Meireles; Sturridge (Kalou, 83), Mata, Malouda (Torres, 59); Drogba.
Wigan Athletic (5-2-3): Al Habsi; Boyce, Alcaraz, Caldwell, Figueroa, Beausejour (Watson, 71); McArthur (Diame, 71), McCarthy; Moses, Di Santo (Sammon, 79), Maloney.
Referee Mike Jones.
Man of the match Mata (Chelsea).
Match rating 7/10.


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Observer:

Juan Mata's 90th-minute goal gives below-par Chelsea win over Wigan
Paul Doyle at Stamford Bridge

The major riddle Roberto Di Matteo must resolve over the coming weeks is: how can Barcelona be beaten. The only help he got with answering that in this game was: not by playing like this. And, perhaps, by getting the sort of decisions from officials that contributed to this low-rent performance being rewarded with three valuable points.Wigan Athletic were looking comfortable until Branislav Ivanovic opened the scoring in the 62nd minute from an offside position. "People keep asking: 'Is it time to bring in technology?"' Roberto Martinez said before answering: "No, it's time to bring in referees and linesmen who know the laws of the game."Wigan cancelled out that goal through Mohamed Diamé's strike in the 82nd minute but were then undone in stoppage time when Juan Mata bundled the ball into the net from, Wigan believe, an offside position. Martínez said: "I don't want to get into the argument that it is easy to referee against little Wigan but that sort of thing has happened to us too many times this season"I want to believe that every team gets good luck and bad luck but we've been getting too much bad luck. I hope that means good luck is coming."Luck is a quality that Di Matteo has enjoyed since taking charge at Stamford Bridge. Indeed, it is perhaps the major difference between his reign and that of his predecessor, André Villas-Boas. With the exception of the stirring Champions League win over Napoli, Chelsea have sparkled no more under the Italian than they did under the Portuguese.Their pursuit of Champions League qualification through the domestic route received a boost before kick-off by the news that Tottenham had dropped points at Sunderland but there was no sign that that result had given Chelsea a lift. The flatness of the opening 30 minutes could be judged from the fact that when a pigeon alighted in the Wigan penalty area, it was able to stay there undisturbed for a good two minutes before a Chelsea cross in its general direction sent it fluttering to safety. "Pigeon for England!" chanted the supporters, for the lack of anything else to crow about.It was 38 minutes before the humans on the pitch gave spectators anything to enthuse about, as Mata twisted his way into the Wigan area before bringing a good save from Ali al-Habsi. The rebound bounced up to Didier Drogba, who headed it goalwards from eight yards but Maynor Figueroa cleared off the line. On the stroke of half-time Drogba went close again, heading powerfully from eight yards after a fine cross by Florent Malouda. Habsi again flipped it over the bar.With John Terry, Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole all out injured and Ramires ill, the replacements were doing little to enhance their credentials and the home team's midfield, in particular, was leaden-footed and uninspired. Wigan were playing the tidier football but their lack of a cutting edge meant Petr Cech's biggest challenge in the first period was to stay awake.The home crowd's appeals for Fernando Torres to be introduced from the bench were granted on the hour-mark, when he came on in place of the barely-effective Malouda. The opening goal came two minutes later and was steeped in controversy. After a Mata free-kick was cleared, Raul Meireles helped it back into the box and Ivanovic tucked it into the net from an offside position.Wigan's sense of injustice, along with their need to equalise, injected extra urgency into the game and Cahill had to scramble a Franco Di Santo effort to safety moments later.For all the crowd's goodwill towards Torres, the striker's travails continued. Twice he was put through with only the goalkeeper to beat and both times he fell over. Daniel Sturridge was faring no better but the crowd are less indulgent of him and booed the England player in the 78th minute when he wasted a one-on-one with a needlessly flashy shot wide.Wigan responded well but an equaliser was looking unlikely, even when Diamé received the ball on the edge of the Chelsea area in the 82nd minute. But the Senegalese created space with a canny shuffle and then blasted a shot into the bottom corner past Cech.Deep into stoppage time Torres's luck finally turned. Moments after Gary Caldwell had spurned a chance to give Wigan the win, choosing to try to take the ball down rather than head at goal from six yards, Torres struck a volley off the base of the post and it ricocheted into the path of Mata, who turned it into the net. The visitors crumpled to their knees in dismay.But they must get back to their feet quickly – their next assignments are against Manchester United and Arsenal. "Wigan were very unlucky today because they played very well," Di Matteo admitted, but plaudits are no use to Wigan now.

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Telegraph:

Chelsea 2 Wigan Athletic 1
By Jonathan Liew, Stamford Bridge

Wigan’s howls of protest rang loudly into the west London dusk. But Chelsea were deaf to them. So too will be Uefa, should Saturday’s result prove decisive in the race for theChampions League. Most importantly, so was linesman Dave Bryan, who failed to disallow goals from Branislav Ivanovic and Juan Mata when both were in offside positions.
Chelsea won the game, but Wigan’s sense of injustice will rankle, having deservedly wrenched themselves level through Mohamed Diame’s stunning late strike. Bryan’s error denied them an opportunity to lift themselves out of the relegation zone for the first time since December. The final toll could be greater still.
“The linesman had a disgusting performance,” manager Roberto Martínez said. “Today, my players were robbed and they now have a disgusting feeling they don’t deserve. If you are good at your job, you don’t get these decisions wrong.
“The referee relies on his linesman, and during the game I was worried that the linesman wasn’t getting easy calls. This is the best league in the world, and you should get better decisions than that. Someone asked me whether it was time to bring technology in. No, it’s time to bring in a linesman who knows the rules.”
Martínez is a temperate man, and by his standards these were extraordinarily scathing words. But they were the defiant cries of a man at the end of his tether. From Conor Sammon’s red card at Old Trafford to Blackburn’s phantom corner kick, fortune has spat on Wigan at every turn.
“Too many times this season,” he lamented, “it’s not a matter of opinions, but clear, clear calls that have gone against us.”
Roberto Di Matteo agreed that Wigan had been “really unlucky” not to get a point.
That Wigan played so valiantly, with such imagination and grit, only made the pill harder to swallow. Against a lethargic Chelsea, still recovering from prior exertions and saving themselves for future ones, a point would not have disgraced them. Martínez had lined his team up in a back five, and with the defence playing a high line and the front three employing a high-intensity press, Wigan succeeded in limiting the effective playing area to a narrow strip either side of the halfway line. Space was limited, as evinced by the 26 fouls and 11 offsides – nine of which were spotted.
Wigan’s innovation came at the price of an utterly forgettable first hour, dignified only by a clutch of fine saves from Ali al-Habsi.
Enter Fernando Torres after 58 minutes, replacing the ineffective Florent Malouda. Initially, he accomplished little bar slipping over twice when in a good position. But by that stage, Chelsea were unjustly ahead.
The goal followed a curling free-kick from Mata, headed out to Raul Meireles, who delivered it back into the six-yard box. Ivanovic nudged the ball home from close range, but replays showed that he had been around five feet offside when Meireles’s cross was played.
Wigan needed no replays to know they had been wronged. They set upon Bryan like a pail of wasps, Maynor Figueroa’s furious protests costing him a booking. But perhaps their smouldering sense of injustice contributed to the spirited manner in which they approached the closing stretch.
By contrast, Chelsea had relaxed a little, and were startled when Diame gathered Ben Watson’s pass, danced towards the edge of the area, was allowed room to shoot by Ryan Bertrand, and fired the ball left-footed past Petr Cech.
Remarkably, it was Wigan who looked more likely to burgle a winner. Substitute Sammon arrived just too late at the far post to slide Victor Moses’s shot into an empty net. Then Gary Caldwell chose to bring down Watson’s cross rather than shooting first time, losing the ball as David Luiz challenged.
In the 93rd minute, three points became none. Didier Drogba floated a cross to the far post, where Torres met the ball on the volley. The shot was fabulous – low, hard and smacking into the woodwork. But the rebound hit the onrushing Mata and bobbled over the line, despite the best efforts of Al-Habsi to scramble it away. It was desperately harsh on Wigan. But nobody will remember that when next season’s Championship fixtures are published.

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Mail:

Chelsea 2 Wigan 1: Di Matteo's team grind out controversial win to keep pace in race for top-four

By ROB DRAPER

How to judge Chelsea at the moment? On results, some would say, in which case Barcelona should be very afraid. But on the substance of their recent performances?
On that measure, Chelsea’s Champions League semi-final opponents should be booking their flights to the Munich final already.
Taking the more positive view, Chelsea recorded a vital win yesterday that keeps them in the hunt for a Champions League spot even though they were without John Terry, Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard and Ramires, all of whom would start if fit.
However, they needed the benefit of one on the worst refereeing decisions of the season to score their first and another offside goal in added time to overcome relegation-threatened Wigan.
Pity poor Wigan. They were organised, effective and hard working.
And they were worth the point that would have lifted them out of the bottom three for the first time since early December, but were on the wrong end of some abysmal officiating.
The first and worst decision came in the 62nd minute. Wigan cleared a Juan Mata free-kick before Raul Meireles turned the ball back in. No matter, it seemed, for the Chelsea raiders had been extremely lax in getting back onside.
At least two, Didier Drogba and Branislav Ivanovic, were offside, so when the Serb stuck out a leg and turned the ball in, it seemed irrelevant. But no flag came from linesman Dave Bryan and referee Mike Jones did not have the confidence to over-rule.
Wigan were aghast. It is rare to see an entire side surround an assistant referee. Antolin Alcaraz and Franco Di Santo led the charge and Gary Caldwell was the angriest, with good reason. It was a straightforward decision and an awful error.
More was to come. Chelsea’s 92nd-minute winner came when substitute Fernando Torres hit a terrific volley from the edge of the box on to a post. Mata followed up to finish but from an offside position.
‘It’s a very, very difficult pill to swallow,’ said Wigan manager Roberto Martinez. ‘We’ve had too many times this season when clear, clear calls that have been against us. It’s not a matter of opinion.’
He was thinking of Conor Sammon’s red card at Manchester United, later rescinded, and Junior Hoillet’s goal for Blackburn from Morten Gamst Pederson’s incorrectly taken corner.
‘I don’t want to get into that debate, that it’s very easy to referee against little Wigan. But you should get better decisions than that.’
Head for heights: Didier Drogba added a powerful ingredient to Chelsea's attack in place of Fernando Torres
Wigan were good but, for long spells, Chelsea were extraordinarily lame. Florent Malouda’s touch was awful and he was withdrawn after an hour. Mata aside, there was no creativity. Daniel Sturridge was anonymous and a 77th-minute miss brought jeers from home fans. Michael Essien looks tired and Meireles was ineffective.
Roberto Di Matteo recognised as much. He said: ‘I think there was a concern there might be a hangover from the Champions League game, and even though I tried to make some changes to energise the team, in the first half we didn’t get into the game.
‘Every game people say, “You need to win today”. We are in a position, unfortunately, where we have to win. We’re pleased we got the three points even though it wasn’t a sparkling performance. I think that shows the strength of the team.’
Di Matteo said he had not seen replays of the goals but did concede: ‘Wigan were really unlucky not to get something because they played very well, despite the decisions.’
The first half had little to commend it, an effort from Gary Cahill and an interchange between Mata and Drogba aside.
Al Habsi did well to block Mata’s shot and Maynor Figueroa even better to clear Drogba’s rebound off the line. Just before half-time Al Habsi tipped over a Drogba header.
Al Habsi then blocked a Drogba effort from a delightful Mata chip before Chelsea’s controversial opener. But a minute after his goal, Ivanovic got back to hack Di Santo’s shot off the line. And when Mohamed Diame received the ball just outside the area on 82 minutes and drove the ball past Petr Cech, it seemed justice had been done.
Wigan might have even gone ahead had Sammon managed to connect with a Victor Moses’ cross or had Caldwell decided to head Ben Watson’s cross when he had a clear sight on goal, rather than bring it down, allowing David Luiz to clear.

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Mirror:

Chelsea 2-1 Wigan
By Steve Stammers

Chelsea reinforced their challenge for a top four Premier League finish – but their victory over Wigan was shrouded in controversy.
The priorities for Wigan are at the other end of the Premier League and the least they could ask for against one of the high profile opponents they have to confront is efficient performances from the officials.
They did not get it.
Chelsea’s opening goal by Branislav Ivanovic was clearly offside and although Mohamed Diame struck a superb equaliser, Juan Mata clinched victory in time added on by referee Mike Jones.
Wigan boss Roberto Martinez said: “We are really down, because we didn’t get the result we deserved. There is a sense of real injustice.
“We won at Liverpool recently but there we had a strong referee. We came to Chelsea, semi-finalists in the Champions League, and looked a real threat.
“It has happened too many times this season that bad decisions go against us.”
Chelsea boss Roberto Di Matteo said: “When you play a midweek game in the Champions League, you sometimes get a hangover in the next match.
“But this group has belief and character and Ivanovic showed we can get goals from everywhere.
“But you also have to give credit to Wigan. They were really unlucky not to get something out of the game.”
There was a distinct air of anti-climax at Stamford Bridge following the midweek entry into the semi-finals of the Champions League.
The buzz beforehand was of Barcelona. Wigan? They were there to make up the numbers – except no one told them.
Latics started with an assurance untypical of a team scrapping for their lives, and in the lively Victor Moses had a man capable of stretching a revamped Chelsea defence lacking the dynamism of Ashley Cole and commanding presence of John Terry.
And they had the eccentric and at times elastic goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi who has few equals in the Premier League when it comes to shot-stopping. Gary Cahill tested his reflexes with a stinging 30-yarder that the Omani turned over the bar, but he was just warming to his task.
His best was reserved for a remarkable save from Mata in the 38th minute. Didier Drogba pounced on the rebound but Maynor Figueroa cleared the danger.
Drogba suffered again when Mata crossed and the Ivorian headed powerfully but again was frustrated as Al Habsi leapt to tip the ball away.
But in truth, it was a muted Chelsea offering and their disaffected fans resorted to cheering the antics of a pigeon that flew from one end of The Shed end to the other.
In the 50th minute, haphazard Wigan defending gave Drogba a chance from six yards but again Al Habsi left him cursing the Wigan keeper’s talents.
Then all Al Habsi’s good work was undone by an atrocious decision by assistant referee David Bryan. Mata’s free-kick was cleared only for him to return it into the box to Ivanovic. Television replays showed the Serbian defender clearly offside but his close-range effort was allowed to stand amid vehement Wigan protests.
Martinez continued the argument with Bryan and fourth official Stuart Attwell, all to no avail, of course, but the sense of grievance was understandable.
Justice seemed to be done eight minutes from time when substitute Diame produced a quite magnificent strike to bring the visitors level.
There seemed little danger as he gathered the ball 20 yards out but he unleashed a fearsome shot that gave Petr Cech no chance.
However, the last word belonged to Chelsea. Fernando Torres may not score too often but in the second minute of time added on, the substitute’s superb angled volley from Drogba’s cross hit a post and Mata bundled in the rebound.
It was so cruel for Wigan, but relief for Di Matteo and his Chelsea side.

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Sun:

Chelsea 2 Wigan 1
By MARK IRWIN

THE petrol shortage has been averted but Chelsea have still run out of gas nearing the last lap of their marathon season.

Roberto Di Matteo’s flagging stars just about did enough to return to the Premier League’s top five and close the gap on third-placed Spurs.
But they needed an outrageous helping hand from blundering linesman Dave Bryan to claim an ill-deserved three points.
Branislav Ivanovic was one of TWO Chelsea players in an offside position when he scored from Raul Meireles’ 62nd-minute through ball.
Even Juan Mata’s injury-time winner could not disguise the fact that Blues had got away with murder.
No wonder the entire Wigan team surrounded referee Mike Jones and his myopic assistant as sheepish Ivanovic celebrated his ill-gotten gains. For this was a defeat Roberto Martinez’s struggling team most certainly did not deserve as they fight for survival.
And while flagging Chelsea were running on empty at the final whistle, Wigan headed home fuelled by a burning sense of injustice as they reflected on the loss of a priceless point.
With 93 minutes on the Stamford Bridge clock, Wigan were set to climb to 16th place in the Premier League and out of the relegation zone for the first time this year.
But Fernando Torres smashed Didier Drogba’s deep cross against the far post and Mata bundled the rebound in with his knee.
It was a bitter pill for Wigan to swallow after they had fought back to level terms from bungler Bryan’s unforgivable cock-up.
Sub Mohamed Diame was convinced he had rescued a magnificent draw when he rifled home an 82nd-minute equaliser after Ryan Bertrand allowed him to turn on the edge of the area.
Yet all Wigan’s hard work was to prove in vain when Mata struck with virtually the last kick of a curious match.
The visitors’ commitment, work-rate and effort were in stark contrast to Chelsea’s half-hearted showing.
This was the kind of ponderous performance that got Andre Villas-Boas the sack.
Even the seven changes made to the team which beat Benfica did not explain such a display.
It was hard to believe Chelsea were supposed to be fighting for every point to claw their way back into the top four.
What is certain is that Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola won’t be losing too much sleep when he gets round to watching the tape of this match. In fact, it will probably send him into the land of nod.
It just about says it all that for most of the first half Chelsea fans were relying on a pigeon grazing undisturbed in Wigan’s penalty-area for their entertainment.
The feathered intruder was briefly ruffled when Gary Cahill’s ambitious long-range drive forced a flying save from Wigan keeper Ali Al Habsi.
And Didier Drogba should have done better when he muscled James McArthur off the ball but shot wide.
In fact, Chelsea’s first sustained pressure did not arrive until the 38th minute.
Mata’s shot was blocked by Al Habsi and Maynor Figueroa cleared Drogba’s follow-up header off the line.
The Wigan keeper was back to his best on the stroke of half-time when he clawed away another Drogba header.
It was proving far easier for the visitors than it should have against a team in the last four of the Champions League and FA Cup.
But poor old Martinez had not reckoned on the inadequacies of referee’s assistant Bryan, who would have been squirming with embarrassment when he watched Ivanovic’s strike on Match of the Day last night.
To add insult to Wigan’s injury, it was Ivanovic who threw himself across goal to clear off the line from Franco Di Santo just two minutes after his breakthrough goal.
The Serbian international defender has proved a real pillar of strength for Chelsea in recent weeks.
But not many of his team-mates emerged with credit from this display and Di Matteo admits that his team are starting to feel the pace after winning eight of their 10 games since he took over from AVB last month.
The problem is that not enough of his shadow squad are good enough to step up to the plate when the superstars are given a rest.
But with a West London derby at Fulham tomorrow followed by Spurs, Barcelona, Arsenal in the league and then Barcelona again, there is no time for Chelsea to put their feet up.

Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Cahill, Luiz, Bertrand, Meireles, Essien (Mikel 74), Sturridge (Kalou 83), Mata, Malouda (Torres 59), Drogba. Subs Not Used: Turnbull, Romeu, Bosingwa, Ferreira.Booked: Essien, Malouda. Goals: Ivanovic 62, Mata 90.
Wigan: Al Habsi, Alcaraz, Caldwell, Figueroa, Boyce, McCarthy, McArthur (Diame 71), Beausejour (Ben Watson 71), Moses, Di Santo (Sammon 79), Maloney. Subs Not Used:Kirkland, Crusat, Gomez, Stam. Booked:Maloney, Figueroa. Goals: Diame 82.
Att: 40,651
Ref: Mike Jones (Cheshire).

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Express:

Chelsea 2 Wigan 1
Roberto Martinez fires from the Lip
By Jim Holden

THE most shockingly inept decision of the season kept Wigan in the relegation zone last night and gift-wrapped Chelsea a huge boost towards their hopes of finishing in the top four.
Branislav Ivanovic was more than a yard offside when he tapped home from close range to score Chelsea’s opening goal – a truth confirmed by TV replays that will haunt linesman Dave Bryan, who made the error.
Two other Chelsea players were also beyond the last Wigan defender. This wasn’t even a close call. It was hopeless.
The incident drove the mild-mannered Wigan manager Roberto Martinez to say the linesman had given “a disgusting performance”. It was a strong comment but everyone in football will surely sympathise with the strength of injustice felt by him and his players.
Wigan’s protests on the pitch were immediate. They were long and loud, and, to their enduring credit, orderly. They were also unproductive.
It was a deeply unjust goal but it stood – and it robbed Martinez’s men of the point that would have taken them out of the bottom three.
They so nearly claimed that anyway in a stirring finish to a mostly mediocre match. Wigan’s spirit conjured an equaliser in the 82nd minute through a fierce left-foot shot from substitute Mohammed Diame, and skipper Gary Caldwell was close to a winner in stoppage time.
Instead, an instant counter-attack delivered victory to Chelsea when a volley by sub Fernando Torres struck a post and Juan Mata bundled home the rebound. That goal, to add further insult, also had a hint of offside.
Victory took Chelsea back into fifth place above Newcastle and within three points of Tottenham in third place. But all the focus was on the lamentable linesman. At the final whistle, Martinez waited for the officials to leave the field and shook his head in dismay and disdain as they walked by. It was an eloquent rebuke.
He spoke with heartfelt candour, saying: “There is a real feeling of injustice in the dressing room. They say football can be cruel and this is as cruel as the game can get.
“The linesman had a disgusting performance. My players were robbed and they now have a disgusting feeling they don’t deserve. If you are good at your job then you don’t get these decisions wrong.
“Ivanovic was one-and-a-half yards offside – and you can’t miss that can you? The second goal was offside too but that was harder to spot. I was asked if we need technology? No. We need a linesman who knows the rules. I feel sorry for the ref because he has to rely on his linesman.
“It’s not the first time this season we have had bad decisions and it happens too many times. But I was very proud of the composure and discipline my players showed.”
Chelsea boss Roberto Di Matteo was diplomatic, claiming not to have seen TV replays, but adding: “I have to say that Wigan were very unlucky not to get something from this game.”
The dramas of the finale were in stark contrast to what had gone before. The loudest cheers and the jolliest chants of the first half had nothing to do with the football; no surprise when play was so mundane.
They were prompted by a pigeon swooping high and low in front of the noisiest section of the Chelsea fans in the old Shed End.
“Pigeon pigeon, give us a wave,” they sang with lusty vigour. And, when the bird disappeared, it was followed by a cry of “We want our pigeon back.”
That’s what happens, it seems, when Chelsea are without their celebrated ‘vintage’ English trio of John Terry, Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole, all absent through injury. The supporters resort to birdsong.
Only Didier Drogba showed any consistent appetite. He had a header blocked on the line and another header tipped over the bar by keeper Ali Al Habsi.
Di Matteo’s other forwards, Daniel Sturridge and Florent Malouda, were footballing birds of the lesser-spotted variety. When Sturridge shot poorly wide he was jeered by sections of the crowd, the booing repeated when the 22-year-old striker was taken off towards the end. He could hardly complain when his display had been so lacklustre.
Not that Torres was much better until his superb volley in stoppage time that created the winning goal. He twice slipped as he moved into threatening positions in the area, while groans greeted Chelsea’s poor passing. It was the most fortunate triumph, yet it may be one with profound consequences at both ends of the table.

CHELSEA: Cech; Ivanovic, Luiz, Cahill, Bertrand; Essien (MIkel 74), Mata, Meireles; Sturridge (Kalou 83), Drogba, Malouda (Torres 59).
WIGAN: Al Habsi; Alcaraz, Caldwell, Figueroa; Boyce, McArthur (Diame 71), McCarthy, Beausejour (Watson 71); Moses, Di Santo (Sammon 80), Maloney.
Ref: M Jones Att: 40,651roberto martinez

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Star:

CHELSEA 2 - WIGAN ATHLETIC 1:
ROBERTO DI MATTEO IN TOP-FOUR CHARGE
By Tony Stenson

CHELSEA should make Roberto Di Matteo their manager.
Not only has he got an ageing, ­lacklustre side challenging in three competitions, he is proving to be a lucky manager – and they’re hard to beat.
Three minutes into added time, Juan Mata scored to keep Chelsea’s Premier League season alive.
It broke Wigan hearts and masked many failures on a day that could be pivotal in the race for a top-four spot.
The late drama came after one of the most blatant offside goals of the season. Branislav Ivanovic broke the deadlock just after the hour-mark – but the goal should never have stood.
Furious Wigan boss Roberto Martinez admitted defeat was a bitter pill to swallow for the lowly Latics.
He said: “People say we should have technology in games but we should have good officials.
“We came here, played well but were victims of an injustice. I do not blame the referee but he should have been helped by his assistant.
“He had a disgusting performance. My players were robbed and today they have a disgusting feeling they do not deserve.
“Both of their goals were offside and that hurts, particularly when you are facing the Championship. This is the toughest league in the world.
“It takes everything away from how we played and we did play well. We are in trouble and this hurts.”
The Barcelona scouts at the game witnessed Chelsea trying their best – but they will not have been worried by what they saw ahead of their Champions League semi-final clash.
Di Matteo rested many of the players that had beaten Benfica in midweek and the shadow squad were made to look pretty ordinary.
John Obi Mikel, dropped yesterday, will always been the man who promised much but delivered little, while questions still remain over Michael Essien.
He drifted in and out of the game, with Raul Meireles and Florent Malouda stepping up their game to compensate.
And what has gone wrong with Mata? Until his goal, the Spaniard did nothing. Summer signings will be important for Di Matteo if he gets the job full-time.
Wigan arrived at Stamford Bridge fighting for their lives – but they play the game the right way and were unlucky.
They defended well, broke out with gusto but struggled in forward positions.
Chelsea’s defence looked secure, Gary Cahill and David Luiz impressed in the absence of John Terry.
Cahill, getting better with every game, stung the hands of Wigan keeper Ali Al Habsi with a 25-yard thunderbolt after 20 minutes.
Then ten minutes later Didier Drogba blasted a shot from similar distance just wide of goal.
They were eventually put on the road to victory by an opening goal that should have been disallowed.
Ivanovic turned in Malouda’s cross but at least three players in blue shirts were in offside positions. It ­destroyed Wigan and lead to a ten-man crowd around referee Mike Jones.
The Latics deservedly equalised through sub Mohamed Diame in the 82nd minute and it showed Chelsea are a shadow of the side that once ruled ­English football.
Diame netted from the edge of the box and it looked as though Chelsea would drop vital points just hours after Spurs were held by Sunderland.
Lady Luck rode to their rescue in stoppage time though.
Drogba found Fernando Torres, given a hero’s welcome on his arrival from the subs’ bench, and he crossed for Mata to touch home at the far post.
It was expected. Wigan have not won at Stamford Bridge in the seven years they have been in the Premier League.
Di Matteo said: “I have not seen the play of the goals but I thought Wigan were unlucky because of how they played. They put in a good performance.
“After you play a game in the Champions League it is tough, we were definitely a bit tired.
“I am delighted to stay in touch with the teams above us. We had to win.
“I left some players out but they have accepted we are a group, the spirit is strong and everyone is needed.”