Chapter 596: Kick off [Matchday 20]

After this, the jumbotron switched away as both teams settled into position.

Wigan spread across their half with players checking their spacing one final time.

Chelsea did the same on the opposite side, with their midfielders constantly looking around them before taking up their starting positions, and the broadcast picked out a few of Chelsea’s changes.

"And there are some differences from the side we saw in that previous meeting," the lead commentator noted. "Christopher Nkunku is involved this time, and there’s also a change in goal."

"Djordje Petrovic starts today instead of Robert Sanchez, and I am sure a lot of us understand Pochettino on that after a series of unconvincing performances by the Spaniard."

"Which gives Chelsea a slightly different look from the side Wigan beat earlier in the season."

"Different personnel, different game and surely they’ll be hoping for a different result."

Paul Tierney looked toward his assistants; One checked the touchline, and another looked toward the far end of the pitch.

Then, when he saw all was fit, Tierney raised his whistle, and at the same moment, the noise inside the DW climbed with him.

The fans leaned forward as Nkunku stood over the ball while the referee brought the whistle to his lips.

Then a second later, it sounded, and once more, irrespective of the following, the crowd rose almost as one.

Nkunku took the opening touch and rolled the ball to his right for Cole Palmer.

"And we’re off."

Chelsea worked the ball backwards almost immediately, refusing to force anything through the middle in the opening seconds.

Palmer moved inside while Nkunku drifted away from the centre circle, allowing Chelsea to establish their first possession.

The away side kept the ball away for a long time, and Wigan allowed them, watching as the London-based club switched play at will until the ball eventually found Thiago Silva.

The veteran centre-back took a touch, looked up, and played it toward Malo Gusto on the right, who received it near the touchline.

It looked as though the game might continue just like it had been, but Gusto had barely had time to look forward when Wigan’s press had already switched on.

Jake sprinted toward the centre-backs, angling his run so neither Thiago Silva nor Disasi could receive comfortably.

Carlo moved with him, cutting toward Gusto, while Ezra mirrored the movement from the opposite side.

When the French full-back saw the stretch, no obvious pass emerged.

The closest Chelsea midfielder was being tracked, while the passing lane back toward the centre had narrowed almost instantly.

But he wasn’t fully alone in this.

Connor Gallagher, having seen the sudden stretch, reacted well and even with a Wigan player tight to his back, he moved toward the right and called for the ball.

Gusto with the outlet, laid the ball off to Gallagher who took it on the move, but the moment he turned, the pressure had already switched to him.

He could not face forward.

A touch too heavy and he risked losing it entirely.

So instead, he turned back toward his own goal and accelerated into the space behind him, protecting the ball with his body as he searched for an escape.

For a moment, it looked as though he might try to carry it through the pressure.

Then he spotted Petrovic.

Gallagher opened his body and slipped the ball back toward the goalkeeper, and Petrovic did not hesitate.

The moment it reached him, he stepped forward and launched it high into the air.

Both teams looked up as the ball climbed toward the centre of the pitch before beginning its descent, and it was Max Power and Moisés Caicedo who moved underneath it.

The two midfielders rose together, battling for the ball with neither side willing to give an inch, but ultimately Caicedo reached it first.

His head met the ball and sent it away from him, but the clearance lacked direction.

The fans watched on as the ball bobbled towards Leo, who watched over his shoulder before cushioning it down with a deft touch.

The Chelsea players began to rearrange themselves to suit the situation ahead, and so instead of forcing the next pass, he played it backwards.

Finally, Wigan had their first controlled possession of the match.

Applause spread through the stands, starting in small pockets before growing louder as Wigan moved the ball from one player to another.

The home side kept the Chelsea players at a distance with their passes and didn’t rush it.

The Chelsea press shifted with them, the midfielders stepping across in response to each pass, but that was it.

They didn’t really threaten Wigan, who kept on passing for an opening.

Leo, the subject of much of Chelsea’s attention, stood slightly deeper, constantly adjusting his position before the ball arrived.

He pointed left, then turned his head right, and immediately the ball followed, refusing to let Chelsea’s plan to keep him in their attacking triangle work.

His commanding presence was hard not to follow for the Wigan players who were eager not to lose the ball, and that was the trust Leo had gained with how good he’d become on the ball.

"There’s the first little test for Chelsea," the lead commentator said.

"Wigan are already trying to move that midfield block around."

"And watch Calderon," the co-commentator added.

"He’s not necessarily looking to receive every pass. He’s directing where the next one should go."

As they spoke, Leo got the ball again, and this time, his first touch took him away from the nearest Chelsea midfielder.

He looked up and found Dawson on the touchline waving his mates forward, and instantly, Wigan changed shape.

The back line began to stretch as McClean pushed forward from the left, but it wasn’t just him.

Femi Seriki did the same on the opposite side, immediately giving Wigan width.

Leo seeing this, hooked the ball and began slow retreating, dragging the Chelsa attack further towards him as Reyes tucked inside beside Max Power, creating another passing option through the centre.

Ahead of them, Ezra and Carlo moved into the half spaces, close enough to Jake to form a narrow attacking group and Chelsea couldn’t react in time.

Their shape had been compact moments earlier but now it was being pulled apart.