Six things we learnt from Chelsea vs Reading

LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 22: Jobi McAnuff of Reading and Branislav Ivanovic of Chelsea battle for the ball during the Barclays Premier League match between Chelsea and Reading at Stamford Bridge on August 22, 2012 in London, England.

The Premier League never ceases to amaze. So it proved at Stamford Bridge yesterday. Chelsea finally won it 4-2 after taking the lead with a Frank Lampard penalty. Pavel Pogrebnyak and Danny Guthrie scored two in four minutes for Reading. Gary Cahill, Fernando Torres and Branislav Ivanovic added second half goals as Chelsea claimed six points from their two opening games.

Here are five takeaways from the Chelsea vs Reading game.

1. This is a different Chelsea:

The way Chelsea started the game, one would think they would run riot. Pass and move, pass and move, it was certainly eye catching. The midfield of Lampard, Hazard, Mata and Ramires were involved in some really fluid moves before Hazard won a penalty. Gary Cahill’s goal awakened them from their mid game slump and they regained their rhythm again. At 2-2, it was all Chelsea, constantly knocking on the door with Oscar in the mix as well (on for Ramires). We are just two games into the season and the style of football played today by Chelsea bears no resemblance at all to the previous season. If they can keep up this kind of play, they will be a much more dangerous team than the one which won the Champions League.

2. Chelsea’s rustiness apparent:

For the 2nd game running, Chelsea simply were never in the game after taking the lead. If Wigan didn’t punish them, Reading surely did. Pavel Pogrebynak equalized, and Reading soon had a shock lead through Danny Guthrie (courtesy Cech with a howler). Rattled, Chelsea tried to respond, but it just wasn’t working out for them and the halftime whistle couldn’t come soon enough. Things didn’t get better and the introduction of Daniel Sturridge seemed to be a necessity, according to Di Matteo. After Gary Cahill scored out of the blue with a speculative drive from outside the box, the rustiness and uncertainty in passing had gone as quickly as it had come. Chelsea need to sort this out quickly for their own good.

3. Eden Hazard is worth the hype:

The dribbles, the passes and the shots, he did everything. Eden Hazard has definitely started well in justifying his enormous price tag, and all the hype, but do not get carried away yet as there is still a long way to go. But four assists in two games speaks for itself.

4. Promoted teams are awkward oppositions:

Reading came out with a mission – to disrupt Chelsea’s party and play some football of their own. The first two Reading goals came completely out of the blue and rattled Chelsea. Reading pressed hard and made Chelsea labour for their victory. Pavel Pogrebnyak was a pain in the neck for Cahill and Terry. They deserved a point for the performance they gave, but Chelsea were a bit too classy for them. They can take a lot of positives as they had Chelsea on the back foot and deep in their half for most of the first half. This, coupled with the displays by Southampton and Aston Villa, bodes well for promoted clubs.

5. Goalkeeping howlers can happen to even the best of the lot:

Remember when was the last time Cech committed an error to concede a goal? I think it was last season’s game away at Wigan. After all his heroics in the Champions League, Dannie Guthrie’s free kick looked straightforward. But Cech got his positioning all wrong and ended up gifting Reading the goal. On the other side, Reading’s keeper Federici endured another torrid match, failing to parry Cahill’s speculative shot and not hurrying back quickly enough after advancing forward for a corner.

6. Chelsea not yet the finished product:

Torres never really got into the game, inspite of one or two dribbles. While the midfielders passed the ball around with purpose, Torres was being left out and again not linking up well enough. This has carried forward from last season. Hazard and Mata looked like they were playing in the same position at times, the arrival of Oscar pushing Hazard out wide. Chelsea still need to sort out who plays where.