Chelsea let relegation favourites Wigan snatch an
unlikely 88th-minute equaliser with a comedy of errors at the DW
Stadium. Instead of putting Premier League leaders Manchester City
under pressure at the top, Andre Villas-Boas must hold a major
dressing- room inquest into how Jordi Gomez was allowed to snatch a
dramatic leveller.
Goalkeeper Petr Cech was clearly at fault, allowing a tame
scuff from Hugo Rodallega to squirm out of his hands and bounce off
his knee into Gomez's path. But others were culpable, too. Jose
Bosingwa should not have allowed Rodallega to get his shot away in
the first place and Ashley Cole seemed to get in his keeper's way
as he bent to pick up the ball.
AVB himself will also have to answer questions, having
made a negative substitution as soon as Daniel Sturridge had given
his side the lead after an hour, taking off his most creative
player, Juan Mata, for a holding midfielder John Obi
Mikel.
The result was a draw and instead of being only two points
behind Manchester United and four behind City this morning, Chelsea
could be nine points off the pace by Sunday night.
The feelgood factor garnered by Monday's win against City
has evaporated.
'We could have gone for the second goal but we preferred
to hang on to what we had,' admitted Villas-Boas
candidly.
'It was three points we expected. We won't blame any
individual for the equaliser. We had plenty of players back but
there was a loss of concentration. We seemed to lose track of our
keeper's position.'
Points shared: Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas (left)
and Wigan manager Roberto Martinez
Villas-Boas has made big decisions all season but
they did not work out for him yesterday.
Frank Lampard was recalled in place of the injured Ramires
but was largely anonymous.
Lampard was not even on the pitch when Chelsea scored
their goal, receiving treatment on a cut lip when it
happened.
Poor Fernando Torres was kept shivering on the bench for
90 minutes, seeing first Salomon Kalou, then Mikel and finally
Florent Malouda sent on ahead of him.
In retrospect, perhaps the £50million striker should have
been given the chance to score Chelsea's second goal but he has
played just 23 minutes for AVB this month.
Chelsea's anguish was Wigan's delight. Nobody gave Roberto
Martinez's team a prayer but they might have won it had referee
Martin Atkinson ruled Branislav Ivanovic's first-half hand-ball as
deliberate.
'We lost eight games in a row earlier in the season, so to
come through a test like that shows huge character,' said
Martinez.
'It feels like this team are just beginning to know each
other and understand each other.'
Wigan narrowly edged the first 45 minutes. In the most
contentious moment of the half, a Victor Moses shot struck Ivanovic
on the forearm but Atkinson ruled it ball to hand.
Glum: Chelsea striker Didier Drogba (right) can't hide
his disappointment after Wigan's goal
Chelsea knew they had to up their game and Villas-Boas
threw on Kalou for Oriol Romeu at the interval. Didier Drogba
showed urgency and fired into the side netting.
Lampard's evening had not gone as planned and he was off the
field receiving treatment for a badly cut mouth when Chelsea went
ahead.
The England midfielder was behind Mohamed Diame when the
big Wigan player leaned back and accidentally caught him in the
face with the back of his head.
The spillage meant the Chelsea man had to come off
temporarily to get cleaned up. And while Lampard was indisposed,
Chelsea scored a goal that was ruthlessly executed.
Wigan stood off Cole just inside their own half and the
England leftback pinged a terrific diagonal pass to Sturridge, just
inside the angle of the penalty area.
Sturridge then showed why he is a serious contender for
Fabio Capello's Euro 2012 squad. His first touch brought the ball
under control and gave him enough room to shoot. His second was an
unerring finish across Al-Habsi into the bottom corner. It was
Sturridge's ninth goal of the season to make him Chelsea's top
scorer this campaign.
In front of the dugout, Cole, Drogba and Terry hugged each
other and yelped in celebration. On the bench, Torres shivered. No
sooner had Chelsea scored than AVB brought on Mikel to provide
extra defensive insurance. But the move backfired as Martinez threw
on two strikers, Franco Di Santo and Rodallega, and Chelsea started
backpedalling.
Unhappy return: Frank Lampard was back in the Chelsea
team but needed stitches after a clash
Di Santo almost levelled after Cech raced from his
goal and needed Ivanovic to head away the striker's goalbound shot.
And when Sturridge rolled around soon after, Wigan became convinced
their illustrious visitors were using gamesmanship to get over the
line.
If that was the plan, and remember Villas-Boas learned at
the side of the master of dark arts, Jose Mourinho, it did not
work. Chelsea had too many men back and they got in each other's
way as Gomez scored.
So the two youngest managers in the Premier League shared
the spoils. But while Martinez, 38, may feel he can keep Wigan up,
the odds on Villas-Boas, 34, winning the league title are
lengthening.
Stunner: Jordi Gomez (centre) celebrates after grabbing
Wigan's late equaliser
