Chelsea survived an almighty scare to beat promoted Reading 4-2 in a topsy-turvy Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge. The European champions appeared to be cruising when Frank Lampard converted an 18th-minute penalty to cap a dominant early spell for the hosts.
But a Pavel Pogrebnyak header – his first goal for the club – levelled matters on 25 minutes, with the Championship champions edging ahead soon afterwards when a blunder from Petr Cech allowed Danny Guthrie to open his Reading account.
Chelsea were struggling and looked bereft of ideas, but they drew level midway through the second half when another goalkeeping error from Adam Federici saw Gary Cahill net from distance.
Roberto Di Matteo’s side then took the lead in controversial circumstances with 10 minutes remaining, an offside-looking Fernando Torres tapping in Ashley Cole’s low cross.
Reading went gung-ho in search of a late equaliser and, in the fifth minute of injury time, Chelsea added a fourth when Federici was stranded after coming up for a corner, Branislav Ivanovic rolling the ball into the empty net after Hazard had broken free.
The victory means Chelsea briefly go top of the Premier League, but that could change at the weekend. Reading boss Brian McDermott, meanwhile, must decide whether he can trust Federici at this level after the Australian cost his side two possible victories in succession. (Eurosport)