Chelsea would be looking to extend their opening day form, when they cruised to a 4-0 win over Portsmouth, against a Wigan side that lost their first match of the season.  Although Chelsea's season opener was an amazing display there are many who are still skeptical as to whether they would be able to maintain the same level of performance playing in less important matches.

The match started out with Chelsea going 1-0 up, from a Deco free kick, after just 4 minutes.  And it looked like the game could easily turn into a steamrollering for Wigan.  But Wigan are no strangers to having to play with goals dropped, and did not appear to be fazed by the early disappointment.  Petr Cech had to make several good saves to keep Chelsea ahead at half time.

In the second half both teams were forced into making substitution due to injuries, but this did not seem to change the complexion of the game much.  Wigan continued to push forward looking for an equalizer.  The attackers on both sides did not look very threatening; Anelka looked especially tame.  While Heskey did win a lot of knock-down headers to teammates he seemed to lack the confidence to take the shot on himself.

The questions of whether Solari's Chelsea would be able to grind out results in unfashionable games appear to have been answered.  There was not much of the flashy football we had seen against Portsmouth in the previous game, but wins like this one are what title winning teams are made of.

Overall match rating: 3 out 5