GOALS from John McGinlay and Nathan Blake, the most prolific partnership in the top two divisions, helped take a splendid Bolton Wanderers side past Chelsea at Burnden Park last night.

Chelsea could badly have done with Vialli but the Italian was a late withdrawal with a hamstring strain. A bad night for Chelsea was not made better by four yellow cards, Hughes and Clarke following Johnsen and Wise into the referee's notebook in the second half.

Scott Minto scored Chelsea's first goal against Wimbledon on Saturday after nine minutes. He wasted even less time here, finding the net after two.

Bolton could partly blame themselves for allowing Minto too much room as his angled run took him across the face of the penalty area. By the time they appreciated the danger it was too late and his precise chip went in at the angle of post and bar with Branagan flailing.

Chelsea knocked the ball about accurately and confidently in the next 15 minutes, and there were a few Bolton hearts in mouths when Spencer was brought down from behind in the penalty area by Phillips. But the referee reckoned the Bolton man had played the ball and he looked correct.

By half-time a steadily improving Bolton had taken a deserved lead with goals from their two top scorers McGinlay and Blake. Both came from corners, which suggested that Chelsea were not learning their lessons.

The first came in the 21st minute when McGinlay got enough angle on Sellars' corner to direct the ball well out of Hitchcock's reach.

Then Blake, in the 43rd minute, repeated the dose with a powerful, straight header after Sellars' corner, again from the right, was flicked on by Frandsen.