Reading 1 Chelsea 2:There was a period in this contest when Petr Cech must have felt condemned only to suffer in this part of Berkshire, yet by the end there was redemption to be had in victory. Chelsea, outplayed through the first period, recovered breathlessly after the interval to maintain their winning start to the season, with the goalkeeper a relieved man. Last year's traumas in this arena can truly be forgotten now.
There was real satisfaction to be had in success, not least because Cech's mistake had contributed to Reading taking the lead. The Czech still wears the protective helmet demanded by the injury he suffered here some 10 months ago, with memories of that furious encounter still lingering. This game was played to an undercurrent of antipathy, the occasion punctuated as it was by a flurry of yellow cards.
Those eventually prompted red, with Reading's Kalifa Cisse dismissed on his home debut for a second booking after connecting with Claudio Pizarro's shin 16 minutes from time. By then his team-mates were wheezing at the ruthlessness of the deposed champions' second-half recovery. Chelsea may have weathered a storm last night but, with a second successive win, they have issued a statement of intent.
There had been an urgency to Reading from the outset, perhaps born of the fallout from last season's furore.
Their eagerness was encapsulated in the energy of Stephen Hunt, the player whose inadvertent challenge had left Cech with a depressed fracture of the skull after only 20 seconds of that game.
The Irish forward had shaken hands with his opponent prior to kick-off and duly tore onto a slide-rule pass in a similar area after barely 10 seconds this time, only for the ball to skip off the drenched turf with the Chelsea goalkeeper watching it drift away.
Cech must hate everything about this arena. The home side's furious start appeared to be blowing itself out when Nicky Shorey's free-kick was pumped into the area from distance on the half-hour, with Ivar Ingimarsson jumping to loop a header into the six-yard box.
The goalkeeper came to claim but, perhaps distracted by the arm thrust up by Kevin Doyle or by the presence of Steve Sidwell and Tal Ben Haim immediately in front of him, missed his punch. The loose ball bounced through the panicked clutter for Andre Bikey to convert with his first touch.
The lead was merited, Reading having unsettled the visitors on the surface with their slick approach play.
Regardless, Reading felt aggrieved not to be further ahead when Hunt's fine centre veered over the Chelsea rearguard for John Oster, unmarked at the far post, to volley goalward, but Ashley Cole's desperate intervention turned the shot on to a post. James Harper skied the rebound and Mourinho, scowling on the bench, breathed again.
The visitors had been becalmed, the closest to a riposte Didier Drogba's skied attempt at the back post from Frank Lampard's corner, and the manager was presumably far from mellow at half-time.
Ricardo Carvalho had already retreated with a thigh problem but on came Mikel John Obi and Pizarro, forcing Shaun Wright-Phillips into a right wing-back berth as they switched to a back three. The reward for the manager's boldness was immediate.
From nowhere, Chelsea generated blistering momentum as if to underline their class. Within two minutes of the restart, Pizarro and Drogba had combined for Lampard to burst beyond Shorey's lunge and spear the visitors level.
Not satisfied with that, and with the hosts flustered, Drogba muscled back possession on the edge of the area, exchanged passes with Salomon Kalou and curled a stunning second beyond the despairing Marcus Hahnemann to thrust Chelsea ahead.
READING:Hahnemann, Murty, Ingimarsson, Duberry (Bikey 29), Shorey, Oster (Ki-Hyeon 79), Harper, Cisse, Hunt, Doyle, Long (Gunnarsson 74). Subs not used: Federici, De la Cruz. Sent off: Cisse (72). Booked: Long, Cisse, Hunt, Ingimarsson. Goals: Bikey 30.
CHELSEA:Cech, Ferreira (Pizarro 46), Ben Haim, Carvalho (Johnson 31), Ashley Cole, Wright-Phillips, Sidwell (Obi 46), Lampard, Malouda, Drogba, Kalou. Subs not used: Cudicini, Joe Cole. Booked: Carvalho, Sidwell, Wright-Phillips, Ashley Cole, Obi. Goals: Lampard 47, Drogba 50.
Referee:Mike Dean (Wirral).
