Crespo Nets Chelsea’s Winner
Posted on: August 16, 2005
Crespo nets Chelsea’s winner
With 30 seconds remaining, Hernan Crespo curled the ball across the face of goal into the far top corner of the net to give Chelsea a 1-0 win
London: For 92 minutes, promoted Wigan was on the verge of an unlikely result — holding Chelsea to a 0-0 draw on the opening day of its Premier League title defense.
But with 30 seconds remaining, Hernan Crespo curled the ball across the face of goal into the far top corner of the net to give Chelsea a 1-0 win on Sunday over the winner of the Football League Championship last season.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was not happy with his team’s display. “During the game, you couldn’t see who was the Championship champion and the Premiership champion,” Mourinho said. “It was exactly the same.”
“Because of their commitment and their spirit and their organisation, they don’t deserve to lose the game,” he added.
Millionaire investor
Wigan, based in the northwest of England, has only been in the professional league since 1978. Wigan’s rise to the top division can be traced to multimillionaire owner Dave Whelan, who has invested ΰ75 million in the club.
The man who single-handedly transformed Chelsea, Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, was also watching from the stands. He’s spent around ΰ280 million on Chelsea since buying the club two years ago.
The gulf in money between the two sides was clear — Chelsea’s new left back Asier Del Horno, bought for ΰ8 million, cost more than the six new players signed for Wigan in the offseason.
“Normally you lose a game, and that loss is the wake-up call,” Mourinho said. “Today we can have this wake-up call without losing points.”
Chelsea only troubled Wigan goalkeeper Mike Pollitt just before halftime through a Damien Duff attempt. John Terry also headed close over the cross bar. Wigan’s Henri Camara forced Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech into a save and Alan Mahon chipped the ball over a clear goal.
Shaun Wright-Phillips and Joe Cole came on for Arjen Robben and Eidur Gudjohnsen at halftime and Chelsea looked more threatening. Crespo replaced Damian Duff after 59 minutes and had a shot cleared by Pollit’s legs before scoring the late winner.
Mourinho criticises
Mourinho criticised several unnamed players for thinking and playing too slowly, for not pressing Wigan players, for not chasing the ball enough and losing it too easily.
“Everything was against what we spoke and trained for during the week,” Mourinho said. “Everybody is under pressure because we have a lot of good players and if you don’t perform, probably you are out of the team.” — Agencies
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