Ten-man Barnsley slipped to another grim defeat as Wigan continued their impressive start to the season.
Barnsley were two goals down after twelve minutes but it could have been worse for the Yorkshire side.
Wigan went in front inside 90 seconds, when former Tykes striker Andy Liddell grabbed his eighth goal of the season.
The 29-year-old front man was hovering on the edge of the box when a loose ball broke and he struck a right-foot shot past Andy Marriott.
Two minutes later Liddell showed his appetite for the action when he pounced again but his shot was blocked.
The torrid opening continued for the home side when Jason de Vos leapt to provide a goalbound header from Scott Green's corner a minute later, but Keith Curle blocked it on the line.
The second goal came after 12 minutes when the Matt Jackson was left in space in the area and rose unchallenged to head home Green's pinpoint corner.
Two minutes later Jason Jarrett raced in and almost stretched Wigan's lead as he chased a long ball, but keeper Marriott darted out of his area and did enough to distract the Wigan midfielder.
Jarrett broke from midfield again after 25 minutes but this time his low, angled shot brought a fine save from Marriott diving to his right.
Barnsley slipped further into trouble four minutes into the second half when midfielder Mitch Ward was dismissed for his second booking, following a rash challenge on Lee McCulloch.
And they went further behind in the 65th minute when Green produced a powerful header to beat Marriott after Liddell's neat ball into the six yard box was clipped in by Nathan Ellington.
A minute later though Barnsley pulled one back when Kevin Betsy, who misdirected an earlier header, found the target with a powerful header from Dean Gorre's free kick.
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