Carlo Ancelotti suffered his first defeat as Chelsea manager with Wigan Athletic chalking up a shock Barclays Premier League victory at the DW Stadium.
After eight straight wins in all competitions the Italian manager saw his 10-man team come unstuck and have goalkeeper Petr Cech sent off.
Titus Bramble put Wigan ahead only for Didier Drogba to pull Chelsea level. The home side regained the lead through a penalty from Hugo Rodallega and Paul Scharner made it safe in stoppage-time.
Wigan again found themselves on the back foot after 11 minutes when Cole picked out Lampard but his effort went wide of the post.
The home side responded and Jason Scotland forced a good block from Cech in the 15th minute.
Chelsea were stunned a minute later when Wigan took the lead after some slack defending.
Bramble got away from his marker and sent his header into corner following a cross from Charles N'Zogbia for his first goal of the season.
Chelsea hit back and Malouda got on the end of a ball from Cole but his touch was poor in the 22nd minute and Kirkland was able to make the clearance.
Wigan were playing with plenty of spirit and N'Zogbia whipped in a free-kick in the 26th minute that Cech gathered low down.
This was a good spell by the home side and Scharner clipped a shot over the bar three minutes later after Scotland had carved out the opening.
Then Rodallega spotted Scotland in a good position but put too much weight on the pass and Cech gathered the loose ball.
Scotland was causing the visitors problems and had the ball taken of his toes by John Terry in the 38th minute as he prepared to shoot.
Then Cech made a marvellous point-blank save from Emmerson Boyce a minute later after Scharner had flicked on N'Zogbia's cross.
Chelsea, however, needed only two minutes of the second period to draw level with Kirkland left red-faced.
The Wigan goalkeeper allowed a soft shot from Drogba to squirm through his legs following a surging run from Malouda.
Chelsea almost took the lead in the 50th minute, only for Scharner to block Terry's effort after Ricardo Carvalho's flick-on.
The game took a dramatic turn a minute later when Cech was given a straight red card for tripping Rodallega as he raced into the area.
Cech was incensed at the decision and so were his team-mates as a penalty was awarded.
Hilario stepped between the posts - with Malouda coming off - and his first job was to pick the ball out of the net with Rodallega converting his spot-kick.
It left Chelsea a goal down and playing with 10 men for the last 37 minutes of the match.
Wigan were not content to sit on their lead and Rodallega floated a free-kick from 25 yards narrowly over the bar in the 76th minute after Cole had barged over N'Zogbia.
Chelsea almost drew level eight minutes later only for Lampard to see his header clear the bar following a cross from Drogba.
They were getting frustrated, however, and Essien was booked for a challenge on Scharner which left him on the floor in the 86th minute.
Chelsea went down to nine men with Cole going off injured and Scharner scored Wigan's third goal in stoppage-time following a cross from Maynor Figueroa.
LONDON (AFP) - Chelsea captain John Terry accused his team-mates of giving up without a fight after Wigan handed the Blues their first defeat this season.
Carlo Ancelotti's side had won all eight of their matches in all competitions until last weekend, but were out-fought by Wigan as the Latics claimed a shock 3-1 victory at the DW Stadium on Saturday.
The win was Wigan's first against one of the 'big four' in 35 attempts and Terry was furious with Chelsea's lack of spirit.
"The least we expect from every player is that we work hard and fight and we did not do that," he said in The Sun.
"We didn't win our headers and we didn't win our tackles and that's simply not good enough.
"You can go anywhere and not play well. But when you come to places like this, you've got to match their work-rate.
"We didn't do that, the whole team. That's the most disappointing thing.
"All the other big sides had emphatic wins, so it's even more disappointing we've thrown away three points."
Even Didier Drogba, who had started the season in superb form, was subdued on Saturday and the Ivory Coast striker described the performance as the worst of his five-year Blues career.
Drogba told the Evening Standard: "We didn't play very well. We lost all the battles, all the duels. We didn't win anything. We were poor.
"This is the worst game I have played in since I have been at Chelsea. We need to think about it, correct what was wrong and try to go again.
"We equalised just after half-time and we were trying to improve our game, but then there was the penalty and a red card (for Petr Cech), which I think was a bit harsh."
WIGAN, England (AFP) - Carlo Ancelotti has promised Chelsea will provide a response when they travel to Apoel Nicosia after suffering their first defeat under the Italian.
The Blues head to Nicosia for Champions League duty on Wednesday hoping to make up for a miserable 3-1 defeat at Wigan on Saturday.
It was the first time they have been beaten since March and the first time they had lost since former AC Milan coach Ancelotti took over at Stamford Bridge in the close-season.
The concern for the Italian is that Ashley Cole and John Obi Mikel could both miss the Champions League match after sustaining injuries at the DW Stadium.
Cole picked up a knee injury that forced him to be carried off while midfielder Mikel suffered an ankle problem.
Ancelotti is also facing up to the fact that Henrique Hilario will have to fill in for Petr Cech against Liverpool next Sunday, after the Czech goalkeeper was sent off in the defeat to the Latics.
Manchester United's 2-0 win at Stoke meant that Sir Alex Ferguson's team moved above Chelsea on goal difference.
But while Ancelotti wants to see more from his team in Nicosia, he expects to fight United all the way in the title race.
He said: "I think that there will be a lot of competition until the end of the season.
"I don't know why we lost at Wigan because we prepared very well and we knew what was important.
"This can happen after a lot of victories and we have to accept this loss and fix it in the next match in the Champions League.
"I don't think we were over-confident. In football it can happen that one day it?s not good and now we have to look forward."
Titus Bramble opened the scoring against the Londoners before Dider Drogba equalised a minute after the restart.
But after Cech was sent off for tripping Hugo Rodallega, the Colombian converted the resulting spot-kick before Paul Scharner added Wigan?s third in the closing stages.
Latics manager Roberto Martinez felt Wigan have shown how to play against Chelsea after picking up a first victory over a 'big four' team in 35 attempts.
He said: "The only way that you can upset Chelsea a little bit is to not allow them the ball, not allow them to feel themselves and they found it difficult in that respect but the moment you switch off you're going to be punished.
"All the positive things we did were backed up by the concentration levels at the back and it was a complete performance.
"When you are a team like Wigan and you've got Chelsea at home, you've got two options. You can be brave and beat them or you can get hammered.
"In the the last two games (against Manchester United and Arsenal) we lost 5-0 and 4-0 and the only reason that we won against Chelsea was that we maintained our standards, we learned our lessons and we were brave from the first second."
WIGAN, England (AFP) - Wigan handed 10-man Chelsea a first defeat under Carlo Ancelotti as the Latics took advantage of Petr Cech's dismissal to win 3-1 at the DW Stadium on Saturday.
The Blues had won all six of their Premier League matches since Ancelotti arrived from AC Milan in the close-season.
But Wigan over-powered Chelsea with a dominant display. Roberto Martinez's side, who had won just twice so far this season, took the lead through Titus Bramble.
Didier Drogba looked to have restored order when he levelled just after the restart with his 100th Chelsea goal.
But the key moment came when Cech tore out to trip Rodallega, earning himself a red card. The Columbian lashed in the spot-kick before Paul Scharner added a late third.
Chelsea, who surrendered top spot to Manchester United, were first to threaten when Frank Lampard skipped a free kick through the wall only for Chris Kirkland to save.
At the other end Hendry Thomas gave Cech an early test with a rifled free kick that the Czech goalkeeper held with a scrambling save.
Just before the quarter of an hour mark, Charles N'Zogbia cut on fro the right and slipped Jason Scotland through but the Trinidad front-man's strike thumped away off Cech.
And shortly after that Chelsea went to sleep at a Wigan corner and the Latics took a shock lead.
Ancelotti's side failed to react as N'Zogbia was given the time and space to cross for an unmarked Bramble to guide in a header.
The Londoners looked for an immediate response but Florent Malouda's through-ball saw Drogba waste the opening.
Wigan looked confident and slick on the ball and Scharner fired straight at Cech after another classy passing move.
And Cech had to be alert again to hold a stinging N'Zogbia drive from another free kick.
Another opening passed for the hosts when strong play from Scotland saw the front-man off-load to Scharner, who scooped over the bar.
Scharner slipped as he was about to shoot after swapping passes with N'Zogbia and bursting into the area.
Only a well-timed slide from John Terry stopped Scotland firing in after the ex-Swansea man seized on hesitation from Ricardo Carvalho.
From the corner that followed, Wigan again played short and N'Zogbia's hanging cross was knocked back in for Emmerson Boyce to force a fine block from Cech.
Just two mintues after the restart, Chelsea pulled level.
Malouda found space down the left and crossed for Drogba to scuff his shot through Kirkland's legs for his sixth goal of the season.
The Blues almost pulled in front when Carvalho found Terry and his snap-shot deflected wide off Bramble.
But five minutes later, the match was blown wide open once again when Cech was given a straight red for clipping Rodallega after the Columbian was sent through by N'Zogbia.
And substitute goalkeeper Hilario's first action was to pick the ball out of the back of his net after Rodallega blasted the spot-kick straight down the middle.
Scharner could have added a third for Wigan but dragged his shot wide from just outside the area.
When substitute Salomon Kalou swung at thin air and then lashed over the bar in the space of a couple of minutes, Chelsea must have realised it would not be their day.
And after Ashley Cole was carried off, Scharner tapped in Maynor Figueroa's cross to complete Chelsea's misery in the 90th minute.
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