Deco continued his fine start to life in the Premier League, scoring his second goal in as many games to see Chelsea past Wigan 1-0 at the JJB Stadium.
The Portugal midfielder lashed home a free-kick in the third minute to hand the Blues three points against a resilient Latics side.
Luiz Felipe Scolari's men were a shadow of the side that romped to a 4-0 victory over Portsmouth in last weekend's opener, but with two wins from two the Brazilian coach has already stolen a march on title rivals Arsenal and Manchester United.
Wigan was forced into a late change after goalkeeper Chris Kirkland injured his back in the pre-match warm-up.
Kirkland's late withdrawal saw Mike Pollitt promoted to the starting XI, while Titus Bramble was also handed a recall in place of key defender Paul Scharner who was not in the squad.
An early mix-up between Deco and Michael Ballack gave the hosts a chance to break clear but Wilson Palacios lacked support and the danger soon passed.
It was the only chance Wigan got before former Barcelona star Deco fired Chelsea in front with an inch-perfect free-kick.
Lee Cattermole was penalised just outside the box and, with just three minutes on the clock, Deco curled the ball past a helpless Pollitt.
To their credit, the Latics hit back hard. First Palacios and then Amr Zaki forced Petr Cech into smart saves at his near post, while Antonio Valencia was stretched just too far as he attempted to strike a loose ball from 18 yards.
The match continued at breakneck speed - a classic Premier League match for the watching Fabio Capello - with Jose Bosingwa creating and conceding chances down Chelsea's right flank.
Blues skipper John Terry was shown a yellow card in the 14th minute for impeding Emile Heskey and Wigan continued to threaten, with a speculative Cattermole effort briefly worrying Cech in the away goal.
Newly-crowned England skipper Terry went close himself after 17 minutes, heading over from six yards from a Frank Lampard corner.
Chelsea was looking uncomfortable at the back and needed a somewhat cynical foul by Bosingwa to prevent another Wigan counter in the 22nd minute.
Zaki was next to test Cech, forcing a good save after some fine build-up play from Cattermole and an unusually advanced Emmerson Boyce.
Mario Melchiot, Wigan's skipper and a former Chelsea player, was also a threat, overlapping busily down the right and spraying an impressive array of passes.
The Dutchman was called into action in defence after 35 minutes, heading clear a dangerous-looking Nicolas Anelka cross to deny Ballack a tap-in.
Anelka was then denied a penalty after crashing to the turf with Boyce and Melchiot in attendance.
A Terry error gave Wigan one more chance to go level before the break but Heskey was unable to fashion a shooting chance from Zaki's clever through-ball.
Wigan boss Steve Bruce used the break to restructure, replacing an off-colour Jason Koumas with winger Daniel de Ridder.
Chelsea started the second half as nervously as it finished the first - a breakdown in communication between Ricardo Carvalho and Cech almost gifting the hosts the softest of chances.
There was room for improvement in its forward play too, Anelka and Ashley Cole conspiring to lose possession on the edge of the area after an incisive Deco breakaway.
Joe Cole, putting in one of his less effective displays, was replaced before the