EPL Week 2: Deco's Early Free-Kick Enough to Give Chelsea 1-0 Win Against Wigan
August 25th 2008 05:42
Chelsea's impressive performance last week was just an illusion, a plot to impress fans and critics. Yesterday, Chelsea went back to their old ways, making disconnected plays, forgetting all about possession, and simply kicking the ball about. The winning goal came at 3rd minute when Deco fired a beautiful free-kick past Kirkland. After that, nothing.
To everyone's surprise, it was Wigan who dominated the first half (the second half was a bit more even). The home team were a lot sharper than the Chelsea players who seemed to be running in cruise mode. Anelka's reaction time took a huge step backward as the French striker lost every ball sent to him, Deco was a lot less active in midfield, and Ashley Cole didn't make any offensive rush. The best player on the Blues' side was goalkeeper Petr Cech who made several key saves to keep his team in the lead. Cech was so intense that, at one point, he turned into a hockey goalie, pushing Wigan's striker out of the six-yard box during a corner as if the little box was his own personal space. It was a clear-cut penalty, yet the referee let play move on.
So, Deco was the difference in this game. The Portuguese midfielder is quickly becoming a fan favorite, overshadowing Ballack. Let's hope he keeps his great form for the rest of the season.
Chelsea's line-up: Petr Cech; Jose Bosingwa, John Terry, Ricardo Carvalho, Ashley Cole (Wayne Bridge, 82nd); Deco, Michael Ballack, Michael Essien, Frank Lampard; Joe Cole (Salomon Kalou, 57th), Nicolas Anelka (Florent Malouda, 88th).
To everyone's surprise, it was Wigan who dominated the first half (the second half was a bit more even). The home team were a lot sharper than the Chelsea players who seemed to be running in cruise mode. Anelka's reaction time took a huge step backward as the French striker lost every ball sent to him, Deco was a lot less active in midfield, and Ashley Cole didn't make any offensive rush. The best player on the Blues' side was goalkeeper Petr Cech who made several key saves to keep his team in the lead. Cech was so intense that, at one point, he turned into a hockey goalie, pushing Wigan's striker out of the six-yard box during a corner as if the little box was his own personal space. It was a clear-cut penalty, yet the referee let play move on.
So, Deco was the difference in this game. The Portuguese midfielder is quickly becoming a fan favorite, overshadowing Ballack. Let's hope he keeps his great form for the rest of the season.
Deco's Free-Kick
Chelsea's line-up: Petr Cech; Jose Bosingwa, John Terry, Ricardo Carvalho, Ashley Cole (Wayne Bridge, 82nd); Deco, Michael Ballack, Michael Essien, Frank Lampard; Joe Cole (Salomon Kalou, 57th), Nicolas Anelka (Florent Malouda, 88th).
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