Wigan 1-2 Chelsea

Jan 27 2008

NICOLAS ANELKA scored one and made the other as holders Chelsea survived a scare.

The £15million striker netted his first for the club after the break before laying on No.2 for Shaun Wright-Phillips in 82 minutes.

But a late Antoine Sibierski rocket gave Wigan a lifeline and they almost levelled at the death when Marcus Bent hit the bar.

Wright-Phillips was full of praise for Anelka and said: "He's an absolutely great player. You saw what he did today and it was a great finish.

"He's always going to provide for the team.

He won lots of headers and that's important."

After a dull first half the game burst to life in 53 minutes when Juliano Belletti's through ball was touched home by Anelka.

The French ace then beat Kevin Kilbane and squared for Wright-Phillips to make it 2-0.

Sibierski's stunning volley that flew past Petr Cech made Chelsea sweat before Bent went within inches of an equaliser.