Chelsea 4 Reading 2

Last updated : 22 August 2012 By Paul Lagan

Chelsea smacked Reading by 4-2 tonight ensuring that they return to the top of the Premier League for the first time since November 2012.

Goals from Frank Lampard,  Gary  Cahill, Fernando Torres and a 94th minute goal from Branislav Ivanovic secured the three points.

But the Blues had to do it the hard way, firstly taking the lead then losing it before overcoming the new boys in a pulsating encounter

Eden Hazard, the star of the 2-0 win over Wigan on Sunday almost put the Blues ahead in the second minute.

A trademark quick counter-attack by the home side saw the ball bisect the Reading Reagan,

The Belgium midfielder raced through, unchecked but screwed a left-footer wide of Adam Federici's left upright.

A sizzling repeat move happened four minutes later. This time,  Ramires, back in the side after an illness, saw his curling effort from just inside the Reading penalty area, parried away to safety by Ferderici.

But the inevitable happened, and the Blues took the lead on 17 minutes.

Following yet another counter, the ball was threaded through to Hazard, just inside the Reading area on the left.

He twisted Chris Gunter several times before the right-back tripped him up.

Frank Lampard stepped up and smashed the resultant spot kick past Fererici's outstretched left hand and into the back of the net, the midfielder 188th goal for Chelsea.

But he lead was short-lived and the visitors were level within six minutes.

Gareth McCleary, wide on the right, sent in the perfect cross. Striker Pavel  Pogrebnyak   Got ahead of centre-back Gary Cahill and glanced a powerful header high and wide of Petr Cech.

Reading then shocked the home crowd by talking the lead on the 29th minute. John Terry fouled Jobi McAnuff on the edge of the Chelsea penalty area, wide on the left

Danny Guthrie zipped in a fizzer of a free-kick which Cech made a has of. The ball bounced off the hapless stopper's  legs and into the net.

Terry tried  to make amends two minutes later but his header from a Mata byline free-kick sailed over Fererici's crossbar

Hazard was next up to pepper the Reading goal, his pile-driving 25-yarder inched over the crossbar.

Reading  almost nabbed a third two minutes from the break.

Again,the Blues were almost undone by a free-kick, this time by Ian Harte whose left footer  caught out the Blues rearguard and Alex Pearce was inches away from connecting with the ball.

Torres headed just wide, from eight yards out from Hazard's  dinked cross as the Blues went for a desperate first-half equaliser. 

The Blues started the second half in similar vein to the first, in attacking mode. Ivanovic blasting over from 20 yards after excellent set-up play by Torres the result.

Chelsea boss Roberto Di Matteo decided enough was enough on 57 minutes, replacing an ineffectual Ramires for new boy Oscar.

He was soon in the  thick of the action, but his long-range effort on 63 failed to trouble Federici.

Hazard was at the centre of all that was good in the Chelsea attacking play and he was unlucky on 64 minutes to see a goal-bound shot hacked away.

Di Matteo then replaced midfielder Mikel for striker Daniel Sturridge on 68 minutes as the Blues reverted to an almost archaic (for them) 4:3:3 formation.

The response was instant and they were level when Gary Cahill tried his luck from 30 yards.

The ball swerved in the air, admittedly, but Federici, like Cech earlier, allowed the ball to squirm user his body and into the net.

Sturridge showed the extravagant side of his play with 17 minutes to go, by trying an audacious curler from range  when  a simpler pass was on.

Mata almost put the Blues ahead on 80 minutes but his mistimed right-footer just inside the Reading area went through a melee of players and wide of goal.Seconds later and The Blues  were ahead and a tad lucky to be given the decision.

Quick interchange of the ball, with Lampard  pivotal, saw Torres with the easiest of chances to tap the ball home from five yards.

However the Spain striker was clearly in an offside portion when he received the ball from Ashley Cole.

Di Matteo decided that he would settle for that result when he brought  on the steely Raul Meireles for maestro Mata.

With Reading desperately seeking an equaliser, they fell foul to a classic sucker punch four minutes into added time.

Ferderici decided to add his weight to a Reading corner on 94 minutes

However the ball was cleared and, with the goalie stranded upfield, Chelsea broke quickly with man-of-the match Hazard racing clear - he passed to Ivanovic who slotted home into the vacant net much to the delight of the majority of the 41,733 crowd.Next up for the Blues is a visit of Newcastle United to the Bridge on Saturday.
 





Teams:Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry Cole, Ramires, Lampard, Torres, Mata, Mikel, Hazard, Cahill.Subs: Turnbull, Essien, Romeu, Oscar, Meireles, Sturridge, Bertrand.
Reading: Federici, Gunter, Karacan, Pearce, Pogrebnyak, McAnuff, McCleary, Gorkss, Guthrie, Harte.Subs: McCarthy, Mariappa, Le Fondre, Hunt, Tabb, Robson-Kanu, Cummings
Referee: Lee Mason