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Wigan inflicts Chelsea's first loss of season
Chelsea's perfect start under Carlo Ancelotti ended with a 3-1 loss at Wigan, allowing defending champion Manchester United to go top in the EPL.
- Associated Press
- Updated: September 27, 2009 07:20 am IST
Read Time: 4 min
London :
Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech was sent off early in the second half for tripping Hugo Rodallega, who proceeded to make it 2-1 from the penalty spot and condemn Ancelotti to his first loss as Chelsea manager.
"It was a bad performance. I do not know why we did not play well," Ancelotti said. "But these things can happen after a lot of victories. We have to accept this loss and fix things for our next match."
United moved above Chelsea on goal difference after Ryan Giggs came off the bench to provide goals for Dimitar Berbatov and John O'Shea.
Liverpool and Tottenham are both three points adrift after emphatic victories. Fernando Torres scored a hat trick in Liverpool's 6-1 win over Hull, and Robbie Keane hit four goals as Tottenham thrashed Burnley 5-0.
Portsmouth's worst start continued, losing 1-0 against Everton for its seventh straight league defeat to remain pointless and rooted to the bottom.
After eight wins in all competitions, Ancelotti took Chelsea to a Wigan side that had not previously beaten one of the "Big Four" clubs - also including United, Liverpool and Arsenal - in 34 attempts since arriving in the Premier League.
Titus Bramble headed Wigan ahead early on, but Chelsea hit back two minutes after the break when Didier Drogba scored his 100th goal for the club.
A minute later, the visitors were reduced to 10 men when Cech was shown the first red card of his Chelsea career in his 230th match. Midfielder Florent Malouda made way for back-up goalkeeper Henrique Hilario, who couldn't stop Rodallega's penalty.
Having used all its substitutes, Chelsea was reduced to nine men for the closing minutes when defender Ashley Cole was carried off on a stretcher injured. Paul Scharner added a third for Wigan in stoppage time.
"I'm very happy today because it's the first time we beat a top-four team," Scharner said. "We try very hard in training to employ (manager) Roberto Martinez's philosophy and each week we get better."
The Red Devils, whose only loss this season was to Burnley in their second match, took until the 62nd minute to break through at Stoke.
Giggs provided Berbatov with a tap-in, and the 35-year-old midfielder - English football's most decorated player - curled a free kick that O'Shea headed into the far corner 15 minutes later.
"Ryan is important," United manager Alex Ferguson said. "He has the intelligence to take up good positions. For the first goal he went on a lovely run behind their defense and the second was an excellent free kick."
Liverpool's draw against Hull last season was one of seven at Anfield that cost Rafa Benitez's side the league title. It looked like history would repeat itself when Torres put the Reds ahead in the 12th only for Geovanni to level inside three minutes.
But there was no way back for the visitors after Torres found the net again in the 28th. The Spain striker completed his hat trick two minutes into the second half before being replaced by Ryan Babel in the 67th.
"If he hadn't come off - we want to protect him - he could have scored more goals," manager Rafa Benitez said. "We were attacking and attacking and attacking, and it was just a question of time before we scored all those goals."
Captain Steven Gerrard added a fourth in the 61st when he curled a shot into the far corner from wide on the left wing, and Ryan Babel completed the rout with two late goals.
Torres, though, was outdone by former Liverpool teammate Robbie Keane, who scored four goals for Tottenham.
Keane's first came from the penalty spot in the 18th and, after Jermaine Jenas added the second, the Ireland striker scored three times in 13 minutes in the second half.
At Fratton Park, Portsmouth enjoyed a host of chances in front of goal, but Everton's victory was clinched in the 42nd when Louis Saha brought down a long, high ball and unleashed a clinical strike past goalkeeper David James.
Arsenal moved up to fifth with a 1-0 victory at Fulham. Robin van Persie was released by captain Cesc Fabregas and burst through the center backs before dispatching a 52nd-minute strike low into the far corner.
Both Birmingham clubs experienced 2-1 defeats to Lancashire sides, with Birmingham beaten at home by Bolton and Aston Villa going down at Blackburn.
Chelsea's perfect start under Carlo Ancelotti ended with a 3-1 loss at Wigan on Saturday, allowing defending champion Manchester United to go top in the Premier League by winning 2-0 at Stoke.Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech was sent off early in the second half for tripping Hugo Rodallega, who proceeded to make it 2-1 from the penalty spot and condemn Ancelotti to his first loss as Chelsea manager.
"It was a bad performance. I do not know why we did not play well," Ancelotti said. "But these things can happen after a lot of victories. We have to accept this loss and fix things for our next match."
United moved above Chelsea on goal difference after Ryan Giggs came off the bench to provide goals for Dimitar Berbatov and John O'Shea.
Liverpool and Tottenham are both three points adrift after emphatic victories. Fernando Torres scored a hat trick in Liverpool's 6-1 win over Hull, and Robbie Keane hit four goals as Tottenham thrashed Burnley 5-0.
Portsmouth's worst start continued, losing 1-0 against Everton for its seventh straight league defeat to remain pointless and rooted to the bottom.
After eight wins in all competitions, Ancelotti took Chelsea to a Wigan side that had not previously beaten one of the "Big Four" clubs - also including United, Liverpool and Arsenal - in 34 attempts since arriving in the Premier League.
Titus Bramble headed Wigan ahead early on, but Chelsea hit back two minutes after the break when Didier Drogba scored his 100th goal for the club.
A minute later, the visitors were reduced to 10 men when Cech was shown the first red card of his Chelsea career in his 230th match. Midfielder Florent Malouda made way for back-up goalkeeper Henrique Hilario, who couldn't stop Rodallega's penalty.
Having used all its substitutes, Chelsea was reduced to nine men for the closing minutes when defender Ashley Cole was carried off on a stretcher injured. Paul Scharner added a third for Wigan in stoppage time.
"I'm very happy today because it's the first time we beat a top-four team," Scharner said. "We try very hard in training to employ (manager) Roberto Martinez's philosophy and each week we get better."
The Red Devils, whose only loss this season was to Burnley in their second match, took until the 62nd minute to break through at Stoke.
Giggs provided Berbatov with a tap-in, and the 35-year-old midfielder - English football's most decorated player - curled a free kick that O'Shea headed into the far corner 15 minutes later.
"Ryan is important," United manager Alex Ferguson said. "He has the intelligence to take up good positions. For the first goal he went on a lovely run behind their defense and the second was an excellent free kick."
Liverpool's draw against Hull last season was one of seven at Anfield that cost Rafa Benitez's side the league title. It looked like history would repeat itself when Torres put the Reds ahead in the 12th only for Geovanni to level inside three minutes.
But there was no way back for the visitors after Torres found the net again in the 28th. The Spain striker completed his hat trick two minutes into the second half before being replaced by Ryan Babel in the 67th.
"If he hadn't come off - we want to protect him - he could have scored more goals," manager Rafa Benitez said. "We were attacking and attacking and attacking, and it was just a question of time before we scored all those goals."
Captain Steven Gerrard added a fourth in the 61st when he curled a shot into the far corner from wide on the left wing, and Ryan Babel completed the rout with two late goals.
Torres, though, was outdone by former Liverpool teammate Robbie Keane, who scored four goals for Tottenham.
Keane's first came from the penalty spot in the 18th and, after Jermaine Jenas added the second, the Ireland striker scored three times in 13 minutes in the second half.
At Fratton Park, Portsmouth enjoyed a host of chances in front of goal, but Everton's victory was clinched in the 42nd when Louis Saha brought down a long, high ball and unleashed a clinical strike past goalkeeper David James.
Arsenal moved up to fifth with a 1-0 victory at Fulham. Robin van Persie was released by captain Cesc Fabregas and burst through the center backs before dispatching a 52nd-minute strike low into the far corner.
Both Birmingham clubs experienced 2-1 defeats to Lancashire sides, with Birmingham beaten at home by Bolton and Aston Villa going down at Blackburn.
Topics mentioned in this article
Football
Everton
Stoke City
Wigan Athletic
Tottenham Hotspur
Fulham
Liverpool
West Ham United
Newcastle United
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