The English Premier League is certainly living up to its billing. Another brilliant performance from Eden Hazard, coupled with a little bit of luck, helped Chelsea to a 4-2 victory over Reading in a thrilling encounter at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea were coming off a 2-0 victory against Wigan Athletic on Sunday, thanks to two assists from Hazard. The talented youngster carved open the Wigan defense twice in the first 6 minutes, and it was the new signing who enthralled the supporters for the first 20 minutes on Wednesday, in a game which had been brought forward due to Chelsea's involvement in the UEFA Super Cup.
Weaving in and out, causing the defenders heartburn, seems to be the norm for the Belgian, despite making only his second appearance in the Premier League. The 21-year-old helped break the deadlock, after Chelsea went close with a couple of chances early on, with the trio of Hazard, Juan Mata and Ramires, playing behind Fernando Torres, constantly posing a threat.
Hazard is dangerous when he is inside the box, the playmaker able to display skills that will throw the defender out of his comfort zone. That was again the case, when the Chelsea man tormented Chris Gunter, before the inevitable leg was dangled out for Hazard to trip on.
Referee Lee Mason has no choice but to give a penalty, which Frank Lampard, for the second time in three days, duly dispatched.
If Chelsea thought the floodgates were going to open with the goal, they were in for a rude shock. Reading showed some brilliant fight, completely turning the game around in the space of just four minutes.
Pavel Pogrebnyak, the Russian striker, who turned down an offer from Fulham to sign for Reading, equalised, after leaving Gary Cahill for dead to score from a Gareth McCleary cross with a thumping header in the 25th minute. Danny Guthrie then made it 2-1 for the away side, when his freekick was embarrassingly fumbled by the normally reliable Petr Cech into the net.
Chelsea were looking haggard with Reading on the ascendancy. A few of chances went astray for both teams, before the Blues got back into the game in the 69th minute, again to a goalkeeping howler.
Adam Federici disappointingly palmed Cahill's 25-yard strike into his own net to make it 2-2. The third goal for Chelsea was harsh on Reading and caused much controversy. Torres tapped home Ashley Cole's low cross from close range, but looked about a yard offside. Despite protests from the Reading players, the goal stood.
The gloss was completed when Branislav Ivanovic scored his second goal in as many games, thanks again to an assist from Hazard, with the Serbian defender tapping into an empty net after Federici had gone forward for Reading to try and score from a corner.
