Reading 1
Bikey 30, Cisse s/o 71
Chelsea 2
Lampard 47, Drogba 50
Reading 1 Chelsea 2 August 15 2007
Goals from Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba inside five second-half minutes gave Chelsea a win at Reading on Wednesday night.
The result spared the blushes of Blues goalkeeper Petr Cech, whose failure to punch the ball clear on the half-hour allowed Royals substitute Andre Bikey to give the home side the lead with his first touch.
But Lampard levelled in the 47th minute. Both Claudio Pizarro and Drogba supplied clever back headers to a long clearance and stand-in captain Lampard burst into the penalty area, controlled the ball, and beat Marcus Hahnemann from close range.
Three minutes later, Drogba preserved Chelsea's 100% start to the season when he curled a 20-yard effort beyond Hahnemann.
Reading's woes continued when Kalifa Cisse was sent off for a foul on Pizarro on the 72nd minute.