English Premier League Update: Chelsea beat Bolton and Arsenal draw Wigan as Liverpool get humiliated by Wolves
The twists and turns of an extremely enthralling and mystifyingly unpredictable English Premier League season continued on Wednesday night as Liverpool suffered their biggest humiliation of the year as they lost to bottom of the league Wolverhampton but
courtesy this win Wolves are not bottom anymore.
Chelsea ended the rot as they finally claimed all three points for the first time in 8 games as they defeated a fighting Bolton 1-0 at Stamford Bridge while Arsenal missed a chance to go level on points with Manchester United as a 10-man Wigan held them
for a 2-2 draw at the DW Stadium.
Chelsea hosted Bolton Wanderers being winless in their last 7 games but they had been unbeaten against the Trotters in their last 19 outings. This unbeaten run continued as a solitary goal by Florent Malouda in the second half brought Chelsea a much needed
win.
Nicolas Anelka was restored to the starting line-up alongside Didier Drogba and Florent Malouda in a three pronged attack for the Blues after the Frenchman shook off a knee injury that saw him miss his team’s last clash against Arsenal on Sunday.
Chelsea were still out of sorts in the match but their blushes were spared as Bolton failed to capitalize on the opportunities they got in the first half.
Matt Taylor went close in the first half but his shot just skimmed past the post and both the teams failed to produce any chances in a drab first half.
Chelsea upped their game in the second half and went close through Didier Drogba but the Ivorian’s effort bounced off the post much to the anguish of the striker.
It looked like the lady luck was set to desert the Blues once more but a controversial decision came to Chelsea’s good as Didier Drogba beat the offside trap in referee’s opinion when he appeared offside in the slow motion but the play was allowed to continue
and his squared ball was tapped into an empty net by Florent Malouda.
Their performance was remarkably under par but the Blues wouldn’t care much as they believe the three points was all they needed to spur them on and get their title hunt back on track.
Another encounter at the DW Stadium on the night saw Arsenal squandering a goal and a man advantage to come away with only a point when they had the chance to go level on points with Manchester United at the top of the table.
Wigan took the lead early in the first half when Charles N’Zogbia dinked past two defenders on the edge of the box and what looked like a definite penalty to the naked eye was converted with aplomb by Watson.
The slow motion showed that it was a blatant dive by the forward but the goal stood.
Arsenal restored the parity in the game through a truly sensational strike by Andrei Arshavin as the Russian acrobatically volleyed home a feeble clearance by Al Habsi.
Just a few minutes later, Arshavin turned provider when he fed in Nicklas Bendtner and the Dane easily slotted past the keeper to put Arsenal 1 up.
Charles N’Zogbia then saw a red for a studs up challenge and his side were reduced to 10 men but the disadvantage didn’t count for much as a Sebastian Squillaci own goal late in the game meant that the game would end as a stalemate.
Liverpool’s dismal season continued but they had only themselves to blame as an abysmal performance saw them lose to bottom of the table outfit, Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Stephen Ward’s crisp finish in the second half ensured that Wolves claim their first win over the Merseyside club in 27 years and as a reward they moved off the foot of the table above West Ham in 19th place.
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