Proper acceptance will always elude Rafael Benítez but, on this evidence, so too might his ability to deliver that most demanded by Chelsea's hierarchy. A two-goal lead was surrendered wastefully at Reading here, Adam Le Fondre's equaliser coming deep into stoppage time when the visitors had felt so secure for so long. A chance to ease further away from fifth and even closer to Manchester City in second has been passed up. The European champions' season remains as volatile as ever.
This should have been so comfortable, only for Benítez's world to implode late on. Le Fondre had scored with the home side's first real shot of any note three minutes from time to offer hope but Chelsea merely retreated thereafter. He was ignored at the back post, along with two other Reading players, to volley in the equaliser in the 94th minute. A run of four away league wins has been shattered. It was Reading, who are becoming accustomed to such late revivals in this arena, who departed delirious.
This had been rendered an awkward foray into Berkshire by the Royals' recent surge of form. A club that had felt destined for a swift return to the Championship for much of the first half of the campaign had stirred of late, winning five of their previous six games in all competitions, to clamber to within sight of safety.
An injection of new personnel on deadline day, with Sheffield United's Nick Blackman secured for £1.2m and interest retained in Blackpool's Thomas Ince even if an initial £6.5m bid has been rebuffed, could swell their conviction. That, and the reality that Chelsea appear so leggy at present, rather drove the home side on, only for their concentration to waver just as Mark Halsey was preparing to blow for the break. The European champions, even with aching limbs and brittle confidence, retain a level of ruthlessness in their armoury.
They were mustering one final attack deep into stoppage time, with Ashley Cole, Ramires, Oscar and Juan Mata exchanging short-range passes, when Fernando Torres collected the ball on the edge of the area. The Spaniard had time to trap the ball and consider his options before spotting Mata's dart behind Alex Pearce to the edge of the six-yard box. Even so, the striker's straight pass had to be precise, flicked over half-hearted attempts to block from Mikele Leigertwood and Danny Guthrie for Mata to dispatch first time across Adam Federici and into the far corner. It was a rare flash of quality amid the plod, but it choked the boos that might otherwise have rung out seconds later from the away support.Chelsea have not won any of the seven games Mata has failed to start this season, with the diminutive midfielder carrying the weight of this team's expectation too often. Their lethargy could, of course, be explained by fatigue. This was the 41st game of a draining campaign that has taken them four times across Europe and once to Japan – with no reward to sweeten all the travelling – and the 20th of Benítez's interim stewardship. It is hard to believe he has been at Stamford Bridge for only a little over two months given that draining schedule.
It appears to have dulled them mentally as much as physically at times and, up to Mata's sparkling intervention, this had been sluggish at best. The sight of Oscar and Torres cramping each other's style as they attempted to conjure a rare shot on the edge of the area, with the ball dribbling away from both, had rather summed it all up but, once their lead was established, they could sense the locals' vulnerability. Reading had to demonstrate more incision given their position, but that left them prone on the counter: Frank Lampard's wonderfully floated pass over the home back-line for Oscar to volley over the bar on the spin was a reminder that Chelsea can prosper on the break.
The home side's principal threat had been built upon Jobi McAnuff's gliding runs from deep, and the brawn of Pavel Pogrebnyak in among opposing centre-halves. But there had been no clear openings from which to test Ross Turnbull, selected in the absence of the injured Petr Cech. Chelsea, in contrast, were eking out clear chances as the Royals' anxiety grew. Lampard and Oscar might have provided a second, combining in the box only for Ian Harte to deny Torres a tap-in. Yet, from Mata's resultant corner, Lampard found space away from Stephen Kelly and thumped a header beyond Pogrebnyak on the goalline to register his 196th reward for the club. After all that huff and puff, and even with a quarter of the game still to play, Chelsea felt secure.
That was a false dawn. They would be left to sweat as the Reading substitute, Hope Akpan, slipped a pass inside Gary Cahill for Le Fondre to squeeze space from Branislav Ivanovic and slap a shot inside Turnbull's near-post. That was virtually the home side's first attempt on target, but Benítez will have been infuriated by such sloppiness. His mood was darkened further in stoppage time. Reported by guardian.co.uk 6 hours ago. ~Chelsea Headlines on One News Page [United Kingdom]~
Read more... Reading 2-2 Chelsea | Premier League match report
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