Wigan Athletic 3-1 Chelsea
Last Updated: Sat, 26 Sep 2009 17:49
Wigan secured three points against a team from the top four at their thirty-fifth attempt in a thrilling encounter against Chelsea.
Roberto Martinez's men made clear their intentions as soon as referee Phil Dowd blew the whistle to get the game underway, with little to separate the undefeated side at the top of the Premier League table and the side seeking their third win of the season in the opening ten minutes.
Chelsea started to find their rhythm but looked visibly stunned when Titus Bramble scored with a powerful header following a cleverly worked short corner just quarter of an hour into the match.
No strangers to going behind against teams from lower down the league, Chelsea should have used this setback as a wake-up call but a comeback never truly materialised. Wigan grew with confidence as the first half came to a close and it was left to John Terry to prevent the magnificent Jason Scotland from doubling their lead shortly before the half-time break.
A dramatic few minutes at the start of the second half saw Didier Drogba tap the ball in from close range to level the score, but Wigan regained the lead shortly after as Hugo Rodallega scored from the penalty spot after he had been brought down by Petr Cech, who was sent off for his troubles. Chelsea looked lethargic and lacked a creative spark throughout the ninety minutes, leaving Paul Scharner to make the scoreline appear equal to the effort put in by Wigan in injury time.