Share

Chelsea start well at Wigan

London - Eden Hazard showed why he is regarded as one of the brightest young stars in Europe as the Belgian forward inspired Chelsea to a 2-0 victory over Wigan at the DW Stadium on Sunday.

Hazard, making his debut after a 32 million transfer from French club Lille, played a crucial part in both Chelsea goals as Wigan's new signing Ivan Ramis got his own Premier League career off to a horror start.

Belgium international Hazard, chased by a host of top clubs before settling on a move to the European champions, set up Branislav Ivanovic's early opener and then won a penalty converted by Frank Lampard as Roberto Di Matteo's men got their league campaign off to a solid start.

It took man of the match Hazard only two minutes to show the poise and vision that should make him such a hit in English football.

Hazard picked up the ball 40 yards out with his back to goal before turning his man and finding the marauding run of Ivanovic who was in acres of space with new Wigan signing Ramis having been pulled towards Hazard.

Serbian defender Ivanovic thundered into the penalty area and drove his shot past Ali Al Habsi to open the scoring.

Ramis, a signing from Real Mallorca, was at fault for Chelsea's second goal as well as the brilliance of Hazard came to the fore again.

The diminutive forward twisted and turned inside the Wigan penalty area before bringing a needless challenge out of Ramis that conceded a spot-kick.

Lampard stepped up to tuck away the seventh-minute penalty as his drilled effort flashed under the diving Al Habsi.

Hazard's magic was controlling the game, but he got a rude awakening from Wigan defender Gary Caldwell, who bulldozed into the Belgian in the centre of the pitch and got a yellow card for his troubles.

That didn't rattle Hazard though and he continued to show an array of clever runs, flicks and dribbles.

Wigan were in shock and had to ride out a couple more Chelsea attacks before they finally settled into the encounter.

The Latics won nine of their last 11 Premier League games to beat the drop last season, so they know a thing or two about digging in when the going gets tough.

Roberto Martinez's men could have had one back when Emmerson Boyce crossed for Franco Di Santo, but the former Chelsea striker's header crept just over.

Wigan forward Victor Moses gave Chelsea a reminder of why they are chasing him as he gave Petr Cech his first real work of the afternoon, but the Blues keeper managed to palm the Nigerian's shot away for a corner.

Moses was the Latics' main spark and he broke down the right to deliver a well-placed cross into the six-yard area, but nobody was on hand to finish.

Moses' showing brought a cheeky response from the strong-contingent of Chelsea fans who sang "We'll see you next week" to the want-away star.

Maynor Figueroa then played a curling ball over the Chelsea defence that set Di Santo free, but the Wigan striker hesitated before Cech deflected his attempt and David Luiz cleared up the danger.

Moses continued to threaten after the break as he curled an effort wide after been given space in the left-hand side of the area.

Fernando Torres should have finished the game off in the 63rd minute when he was played in by Juan Mata, but the Spanish striker's effort was partially blocked by Al-Habsi before Ramis went a little way to making up for his earlier errors by clearing off the line.

Wigan pressed late on to get back into the game as new signing Arouna Kone came off the bench before missing a close-range header with just minutes remaining and fellow substitute Jordi Gomez fired an overhead kick over the bar.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should Siya Kolisi keep the captaincy as the Springboks build towards their World Cup title defence in 2027?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Siya will only be 36 at the next World Cup. He can make it!
25% - 1158 votes
No! I think the smart thing to do is start again with a younger skipper ...
30% - 1349 votes
I'd keep Siya captain for now, but look to have someone else for 2027.
45% - 2050 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE