Bolton Wanderers 0 Chelsea 1:Avram Grant has his first league win and even if Chelsea's fans still refuse to sing his name it was noticeable yesterday the visiting fans were not as vocal in their continued support of Jose Mourinho. Winning always tends to placate unhappy supporters and, after a workmanlike 1-0 victory Grant is entitled to claim an air of normality is returning - if, that is, life is ever normal at Chelsea.
His first three points as Chelsea manager came courtesy of a rare piece of opportunism from Salomon Kalou and the team's first league goal in seven hours and 40 minutes of action.
Grant has shown, if nothing else, that by leaving out the Ukraine striker Andriy Shevchenko from a side that had Didier Drogba suspended he is far from merely a yes-man for the club owner, Roman Abramovich.
Shevchenko was not only overlooked for the starting line-up but, when Kalou went off at half-time with a sore hamstring, Grant preferred to bring on Claudio Pizarro and when Shevchenko did finally come on, 17 minutes from the end, it was on the left of midfield, where he contributed little more than the winning of a couple of throw-ins.
Bolton were strong in the tackle, ruggedly committed and, at times, too, they produced some slick football, with El Hadji-Diouf and Kevin Davies breaking in from the flanks, Ivan Campo instrumental in midfield and the 20-year-old Danny Guthrie, on loan from Liverpool, impressive on his league debut.
They may have taken only five points all season but Bolton had two sustained periods, at the start of either half, when Chelsea's defence came close to buckling under the pressure and there were three occasions before Kalou scored his first league goal since April that the visitors were indebted to Petr Cech's goalkeeping - the Czech Republic international keeping out Davies and Campo and diving at the feet of Nicolas Anelka after the striker had accelerated into the penalty area and twisted away from the Chelsea captain, John Terry.
Referee Alan Wiley ended up booking five Bolton players compared to one for Chelsea, and Steve Sidwell was fortunate to get away with a handball inside his own penalty area. Yet the principal reason for Bolton's defeat was not because of bad refereeing but the atrocious mix-up that preceded Kalou's goal.
Jussi Jaaskelainen, Bolton's goalkeeper, will wince when he sees the replays, as will the centre-half Abdoulaye Meite, for it was their indecision in dealing with a bouncing ball that allowed Kalou to steal in, nick the ball away and finish with an angled shot.
The goal originated from a long Cech goal-kick, headed back towards his own penalty area by Gavin McCann.
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