Eden Hazard's Chelsea debut outstanding, says Di Matteo

Roberto Di Matteo was thrilled with the impact of new £32m signing Eden Hazard as Chelsea began their Premier League campaign with a 2-0 win at Wigan.

The Belgian midfielder set up Branislav Ivanovic for the opening goal before winning the penalty that Frank Lampard converted.

"Hazard was outstanding," said delighted Blues boss Di Matteo.

"He showed all his qualities and it was a pleasure to watch him. He was a big threat and difficult to mark."

Chelsea signed 21-year-old Hazard from French side Lille in June, beating rivals Manchester City and Manchester United to his signature.

"He's got great technical ability," added Di Matteo. "He's got a burst of pace as well. He can play with his back to goal and he's got a lot that he can bring to our team."

After racing into the 2-0 lead inside six minutes, Chelsea failed to register another shot on target in the first half, but Di Matteo was satisfied.

"It was perfect we scored twice early on. It settled a lot of nerves," he said. "I'm very pleased with the performance and the result. The first game of the season is always tricky, like you saw from the results on Saturday.

"We nearly scored the third goal, which probably would have killed off the game completely, but I thought we were always quite comfortable."

Wigan boss Roberto Martinez was frustrated by Wigan's start but pleased by his side's reaction to going two goals behind.

"We started really softly," he said. "We had a lack of intensity and if you do that in this league you will get punished.

"But with the manner in which we reacted, I couldn't be happier. It was a big test, not just in the technical ability of our team but in terms of our character.

"It couldn't have been a harder test for all our boys. It would have been all too easy to feel sorry for ourselves and accept defeat but I don't think we did that."

Wigan bossed long periods of the game, with Victor Moses, who has been a transfer target for Chelsea, and Arouna Kone forcing saves from Petr Cech. Jordi Gomez also went close with a header and a volley.

"We had a few chances and it was a matter of getting that goal," Martinez added. "I thought Chelsea were happy to defend well and run the clock down. I took that as a real compliment to the side.

"I wanted the team to perform in the manner we did last season and I think we achieved that."