Chelsea 2-1 Wigan - premier League
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Juan Mata scored a priceless late winner as Chelsea saw off a brave Wigan side with a 2-1 win at Stamford Bridge.
Mohamed Diame scored a stunning equaliser from 20 yards after Branislav Ivanovic had earlier headed in from a Raul Meireles cross just after the hour, but replays showed he was clearly offside as the ball was played in.
But Mata scored in stoppage time after a Fernando Torres volley hit the post and the former Valencia man was there to bundle in from close range.
It was Chelsea’s second Premier League victory on the spin after last week’s 4-2 triumph over Aston Villa and their fourth in succession over the Latics, moving them back above Newcastle into fifth place in the Premier League.
Roberto Di Matteo made wholesale changes from midweek as Gary Cahill replaced captain John Terry, who has cracked ribs. Didier Drogba started ahead of Fernando Torres, Ryan Bertrand came in for the injured Ashley Cole, while Raul Meireles, Daniel Sturridge and Florent Malouda also started.
The Latics were unchanged from last week’s win over Stoke, meaning Franco Di Santo started against his former club, while Diame returned to the bench after sitting out the last two games with a groin injury.
It was a slow start at Stamford Bridge, but Chelsea were the first to press forward with David Luiz, who made one of his trademark driving runs forward and drew a foul off Di Santo, but the free-kick came to nothing as Wigan were able to clear.
The Blues tried to impose themselves, moving the ball around well, and Ivanovic eventually won a free-kick after Maynor Figueroa’s late challenge outside the right-hand side of the area, but Drogba was unable to make a good connection with Mata’s cross.
Bertrand showed some skill on the left early on, swinging over a superb cross which fell to Malouda, but his volley was poorly timed and it ended up rolling out for a throw-in.
Meireles then won a corner which Wigan managed to clear, but Chelsea retained the ball and it was eventually worked to Cahill, who unleashed a rasping 30-yard drive which was heading for the top corner until Al-Habsi parried over.
Wigan were well in the game halfway through the first half though. Moses had an impressive 45 minutes, and on the 23rd he turned round Bertrand before hitting a low 25-yard strike, but it was easily dealt with by Cech.
Chelsea moved up the other end moments later as the game’s tempo increased, Drogba shrugging off a challenge before fizzing a low effort just wide of the post.
But Wigan continued to impress, with Moses showing good movement. He worked it wide to Maloney who ran into the box and won a corner off Cahill, which Gary Caldwell headed over.
The Blues then had an excellent chance to take the lead 10 minutes before the break. Drogba slotted through Mata with a fine pass, who cut inside the defender but was denied by Al-Habsi, whose parry fell to Drogba, but his header was cleared off the line by Figueroa as the Latics held Chelsea at the break.
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