Reading 1 - 2 Chelsea

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Wednesday Aug 15 2007 08:00

Chelsea came from behind to win for the second time in a week after suffering a major scare at Reading.

The home side led through Andre Bikey after an inspired first half, but Chelsea struck back with two goals in three minutes early in the second period.

The quick-fire double was rough luck on Reading, who had earned a goalless draw at champions Manchester United on Sunday.

And the home side's misery was compounded late on when Kalifa Cisse saw red on his debut for a second yellow card.

Reading had made a fine start to the game and might have been in front inside two minutes when Nicky Shorey picked out John Oster at the far post, but the winger took too long and allowed Ricardo Carvalho to close him down.Ivar Ingimarsson then headed wide after Stephen Hunt's corner had found him unmarked in the penalty area and Hunt was denied a certain goal when Tal Ben Haim took the ball off his toe after Kevin Doyle had headed back Oster's cross.

Reading suffered a blow on 29 minutes when former Chelsea defender Michael Duberry was forced to hobble out of the action, but it proved a blessing in disguise for Reading as his replacement opened the scoring with his first touch just seconds after coming on.

Ingimarsson's fine header from a Shorey delivery caused Petr Cech to flap at thin air and Bikey was on hand to bundle the ball into an empty net.

The home side were buoyant and Hunt was inspired. Despite picking up a booking for a foul on Paulo Ferreira, the spiky midfielder was everywhere and had the upper hand on his former Royals team-mate Steve Sidwell, who was booked on his first Chelsea start for a foul on Cisse and then substituted at half-time.

Chelsea looked at a loss as to how to handle the rampant home side, who nearly doubled their lead 10 minutes before half-time.

Hunt's back heel allowed Kevin Doyle to float a deep cross to the far post and this time Oster hit it first time only to see his effort smack against a post.

But Jose Mourinho gambled at half-time, replacing Sidwell and Ferreira with Claudio Pizarro and John Obi Mikel, having already used one substitute.

And the move paid off spectacularly as the visitors scored twice in the first five minutes of the second half to turn the match on its head.Frank Lampard levelled, running into the space vacated by Bikey and holding off Shorey to slot past Marcus Hahnemann.

And Hahnemann was beaten again three minutes later when Shaun Wright-Phillips outstripped Shorey again and teed up last season's leading Premier League scorer Didier Drogba for a spectacular strike from the edge of the box.

Reading fought gamely but Hunt missed the chance for a dramatic injury-time equaliser when he completely missed his kick in a goalmouth scramble.

Live Commentary

  • 90
    Reading put up a valiant effort but Chelsea just had too much for them at the end of the day and they keep up their 100% record at the start of the new season, but Steve Coppell can certainyl be delighted with his team's efforts.
  • 90
    Doyle hooks it across and Harper fails to hit it and Hunt misses it too but he lifts it back in and Drogba heads away and the final whistle goes.
  • 90
    Reading have loaded the Chelsea penalty area in a last ditch effort to get something out of it and Cech punches it out for a throw.
  • 90
    3 minutes of added time have been indicated.
  • 89
    However, Ashley Cole has blatantly time wasted by dropping the ball 20 yards away from where the free-kick was given and is booked.
  • 88
    Reading are going to give this one last go and Murty comes forward with the ball and Gunnarsson overlaps him but Ashley Cole defends well and wins a free-kick.
  • 85
    Chelsea are just taking the sting out of the game now and ensuring that Reading don't get a sniff of a chance to get something out of the evening.
  • 82
    Salomon Kalou has been very quiet tonight but he earns his team a corner after some good trickery to beat Murty before being tackled by the Scotland international.
  • 80
    Seol Ki-Hyeon is making his way onto the field to run at Ashley Cole in place of John Oster.
  • 78
    Drogba powers his way into the area and now looks to find Malouda and he is only denied an easy tap-in by good last ditch defending from Ingimarsson.
  • 76
    Shaun Wright-Phillips is booked for clipping Gunnarsson's ankles and although that looked a bit harsh it is not a surprise with the referee's performance.
  • 75
    Pizarro is perfectly fine and sprinting downfield to try and latch onto Lampard's pass and the Reading fans are unimpressed.
  • 74
    Shane Long is being replaced by Brynjar Gunnarsson as Reading look to sure up their midfield in Cisse's absence.
  • 73
    Now Pizarro is limping and Chelsea could possibly join Chelsea with 10-men as they have used all their substitutes if Pizarro cannot continue.
  • 71
    Kalifa Cisse is now dismissed for a second bookable offence as a trailing leg catches Pizarro and the referee really had no option.
  • 70
    Reading are slowly starting to edge their way back into this game but everytime an attack breaks down it looks like Chelsea are going to score on the break.
  • 67
    Cech still does not look totally confident having made that mistake earlier as he hesitates before punching clear when under pressure from Hunt, but Chelsea pick it up and break and Pizarro almost taps in Maouda's low centre.
  • 64
    Reading do get the chance to come forward now but Murty twice and Shorey fail to deliver well but Ben Haim fails to clear and Cisse has a chance but he fluffs it straight at Cech.
  • 61
    And on the break immediately Malouda runs at Murty and beats him, now Pizarro takes over and shoots and it flies just passed the post.
  • 60
    Reading are not giving this up by any means but they don't look quite as vibrant and sharp as in the first period as Oster sums that up with sloppy control when he had a chance to get in on goal.
  • 58
    Chelsea are hunting in packs to get the ball back at the moment and they look really up for it since the break.
  • 56
    Here come Doyle and Long looking to spark their team back into life and Doyle shoots from an angle and it flashes over the cross bar.
  • 53
    Reading look shellshocked now and that second goal appears to have taken the fight out of them.
  • 51
    Ingimarsson is drawn into the foul by Drogba and is booked as a result.
  • 50
    And now Drogba gives the Blues the lead as Reading fail to clear and Drogba curls the ball past Hahnemann from the edge of the box.
  • 47
    Chelsea are back on level terms immediately as Lampard is allowed to run all the way through the Reading defence and beat Hahnemann and you would certaainly fancy them now.
  • 46
    The second half is underway and it will be interesting to see how Reading cope with Chelsea's increased attaking numbers.
  • 45
    Also Steve Sidwell is replaced by John Obi Mikel.
  • 45
    Chelsea are making a couple of changes at half-time as Paulo Ferriera is replaced by Claudio Pizarro.
  • 45
    What a half of football that was! Chelsea started well but Reading were superb throughout and good value for their lead and they really could be as much as three or four ahead at the break.
  • 45
    Lampard's corner is whipped into the back post and Sidwell of aall people is there, but he completely misses his kick and the Reading fans are happy with that.
  • 45
    Chelsea break well and Wright-Phillips again beats Shorey and looks for Drogba and Bikey puts it out for a corner.
  • 45
    After a half like this there is understandably just two minutes of stoppage time.
  • 43
    Finally Chelsea muster an attempt at goal as Johnson rises well to meet Lampard's corner and unfortuantely for him it is straight at Hahnemann who makes a comfortable stop.
  • 42
    Reading are rampant at the moment as Hunt and Shorey steal it off Sidwell who brings down Hunt and the referee decides not to issue him his second yellow card.
  • 39
    Another chance for Reading and Oster is so close to doubling their lead as he attempts to chip Cech and it lands just on the roof of the net.
  • 37
    Stephen Hunt is booked now for a foul on Ferreira again, to a cheer from the Chelsea fans.
  • 36
    Shorey now just hoofs the ball up field but Long is onto it and round Cech, but the linesman has raised his flag although it would appear Long was clearly onside when the ball was played.
  • 34
    And again Reading fly forward and Doyle finds Oster at the back post and his volley smashes back off the post but it comes back to Harper but too quickly and he can't control the shot and its a goal kick.
  • 33
    The ball is lifted over the top of Ferreira and Doyle is in and Cech is forced to make a good save to deny the Irishman's left foot volley.
  • 32
    Now Chelsea are forced into a change as Ricardo Carvalho is going off with what looks like an injury to be replaced by Glen Johnson.
  • 31
    And Steve Sidwell is booked almost immediately for his third foul of the match.
  • 30
    Unbelievable! Bikey is on and goes up for the set-piece and Cech makes a hash of the cross and the substitute taps the ball into an empty net, within seconds of coming on.
  • 29
    Duberry is struggling with what looks like a groin problem and in fact he is going to have to come off and Andre Bikey will come on and replace the former Chelsea defender.
  • 27
    Another booking, this time Ricardo Carvalho who blocked Shane Long off as he tried to sprint round the Portuguese defender and get in one-on-one with Cech.
  • 24
    Another fine piece of defensive play from Duberry as he prevents Lampard long pass finding Drogba in behind.
  • 21
    Malouda does brilliantly well to win a corner off Cisse and Lampard whips it in and it is headed out but only as far as Drogba who slices it wildly over the bar.
  • 20
    Hahnemann called into action for the first time as Wright-Phillips causes Shorey more problems and comes ever so close to finding Drogb once more.
  • 19
    Chelsea come forward this time and Wright-Phillips, who has looked superb so far tonight, smashes the ball low towards Drogba but it is just to far in front of the Chelsea striker and its runs out for a throw.
  • 18
    Now Reading come forward as Oster bursts down the right hand side and looks for Doyle who can't quite get a touch and in comes Hunt, but it evades him to and Chelsea are able to clear in the nick of time.
  • 16
    And another booking for Reading as Cisse is booked on his debut for a rash tackle on Wright-Phillips and the referee is clearly not going to stand for anything tonight.
  • 13
    Shane Long has received an early caution for a foul on Ferreira, although it may have been a touch harsh as the slippery surface did him no favours.
  • 13
    Even though Reading are the home team, it is easy to tell when Stephen Hunt has the ball as the player's every touch is greeted by boos and jeers from the travelling Chelsea fans.
  • 11
    For the first time in the match there is a substantial break in play as Ferriera decides he would like a breath or two and takes his time over a throw-in.
  • 8
    Reading have adopted a totally different style to Sunday where they packed the pitch and stopped Man Utd playing but tonight they have come out to play and have a go at Chelsea.
  • 7
    Hunt whips the ball in from the corner and Ingimarsson rises all alone at the back post and heads it down and it just bounces wide of the Chelsea goal.
  • 6
    Immediately Reading are on the break as Doyle and Oster combine once again and present the chance for James Harper to strike it and Cech is forced to palm it behind for a corner.
  • 5
    Shaun Wright-Phillips does brilliantly to get round Shorey and looks for Drogba, and he hits the outside of the post, although he was given offside in the end.
  • 4
    A fabulous start at the Madejski, its really end to end stuff with both sides clearly wanting to go out and win the game tonight.
  • 2
    And a great early chance for Reading as Doyle and Oster combine and Oster tries to feed Doyle again at the back post but he can't quite get to it and eventually Lampard clears for Chelsea.
  • 0
    Mike Dean gets the game underway here at the Madejski and Chelsea players will certainly have no problems seeing each other tonight as they don their illuminous yellow strip.
  • 0
    Chelsea: Cech, Ferreira, Ben Haim, Carvalho, Ashley Cole, Wright-Phillips, Sidwell, Lampard, Malouda, Drogba, Kalou
  • 0
    Reading: Hahnemann, Murty, Ingimarsson, Duberry, Shorey, Oster, Harper, Cisse, Hunt, Doyle, Long
  • 0
    Jose Mourinho also makes changes from the opening day, three in fact, as Glen Johnson, Claudio Pizarro and the injured Michael Essien are out and Steve Sidwell, Didier Drogba and Paulo Ferreira come in.
  • 0
    Reading make a number of changes from the side that drew with Manchester United on Sunday including Kalifa Cisse and Shane Long replacing Brynjar Gunnarsson and Ulises De la Cruz.
  • 0
    Petr Cech returns to the scene of his horror injury last season as Chelsea visit the Madejski and Steve Coppell's Reading side who performed so manfully at Old Trafford on the opening day.

Statistics

Reading
Shots on target 11
Shots off target 3
Shots off bar/post 1
Fouls 15
Offsides 3
Corners 4

Chelsea
Shots on target 7
Shots off target 8
Shots off bar/post 0
Fouls 16
Offsides 4
Corners 11

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