• Chelsea 1-0 Bolton
• Harris: Terry gives Chelsea a hand
Anelka scored against his former side in the first half when heading home from a Didier Drogba cross to send Chelsea four points clear of United at the top of the table.
But Bolton proved tricky opponents for the home side at Stamford Bridge and could have won a penalty in the second half when a cross appeared to strike Terry on the arm.
"It certainly wasn't easy out there with Kevin Davies up front and Jack Wilshere playing off him, they caused us problems all night, but we stuck in there and ground it out,'' Terry told ESPN.
"We've done what we had to do. Bolton came here to win the game, they were pressing, playing man to man and made it difficult, but we've handled it well.
"We were probably a bit below our tempo, taking too many touches, but Didier (Drogba) pulled left, I'm screaming at him to get in the box, but he puts in a great cross and Nico's got a great header to score against his old club.''
Chelsea twice escaped possible penalties when Drogba and then Terry appeared to handle in the box, but the captain was adamant he should not have been penalised for the incident.
"I said after the Villa game, you play 40-odd games, you are going to get some penalties and not get others,'' Terry said. "The ball came off here,'' he added, pointing to his chest. "It certainly felt like my chest.''
Bolton manager Owen Coyle did not agree, saying: "They weren't claims for a penalty. They were stonewall penalties. I knew it at the time. Didier Drogba is a world-class player, but looking at this replay he could be a world-class volleyball player. We're fighting for our lives to try and stay in the division.
"I've asked the linesman about it after the game but he's said it hit his shoulder. He needs to take another look at that. It's the same story, we've been to big places before and things don't go your way. It's not about luck, we're not asking for anything we're not due.
"I thought we offered an awful lot to the game, and I'm bitterly disappointed to leave with no points. I thought the lads did fantastic, we had a great shape to us, and I thought they were outstanding for the duration of the match. The lads deserve more than they got tonight, that's for sure. What we do know is that if we go and replicate that performance in our last four games it will result in points.''
