Goals from Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba inside five second-half minutes gave Chelsea a 2-1 Premier League 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 and three minutes later Drogba preserved Chelsea's 100% start to the season when he curled a 20-yard effort beyond Marcus Hahnemann to keep them hot on the heels of Everton at the top of the table.
Torrential rain before kick-off had left the playing surface extremely slippery but Chelsea mastered them quicker than the home side and should have taken the lead in the fifth minute.
Paulo Ferreira fed Shaun Wright-Phillips on the right flank and his cross found Drogba unmarked on the edge of the six-yard box.
But the Ivorian striker, who scored 33 goals last season, smashed his right-foot volley against an upright.
Reading responded by winning a succession of corners and Ivar Ingimarsson sent a header flashing just wide of Cech's left-hand post in the seventh minute.
Reading's Shane Long was booked for a foul on Ferreira in 13th minute and moments later Kalifa Cisse followed him into Mike Dean's notebook for a similar offence.
Chelsea striker Salomon Kalou thought he should have had a penalty when he went down under the challenge of Michael Duberry in the 19th minute but Dean ignored his appeals.
Two minutes later, Drogba wasted another good chance when he collected a corner at the far post only to send his effort high into the crowd.
Reading were forced to make a change in 29th minute when Duberry was injured but it turned out to be a fortuitous one for Steve Coppell's side.
Bikey replaced the former Chelsea defender and moments later scored with his first touch of the ball.
A long free-kick was headed back into the six-yard box by Long and although Cech went to punch the ball clear he was hampered by the close attention of Sidwell and Tal Ben Haim as well as Reading striker Kevin Doyle.
When the Czech Republic international completely missed the ball, Bikey ran clear to prod it home from close range in the 30th minute.
The goal gave Reading extra impetus and moments later Doyle forced Cech to save his 18-yard shot at the second attempt.
In the 34th minute, Reading should have gone two in front when Stephen Hunt's far-post cross was smashed against the post by John Oster.
It was a lucky escape for Chelsea whose situation worsened when central defender Ricardo Carvalho limped out of action with a knee injury. He was replaced by Glen Johnson.
Reading were clearly in the mood to increase their lead and Oster's fine run into the area was only let down by his wayward final ball.
Chelsea, stunned by the ferocity of Reading's attacks, finally won a corner on the stroke of half-time but Ben Haim's header was easily dealt with by Hahnemann.
Chelsea replaced Ferreira with Mikel John Obi and Sidwell with Claudio Pizarro at half-time as Jose Mourinho's side looked to get back on level terms.
The double substitution paid dividends as Chelsea equalised within two minutes of the restart.
Both 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 Hahnemann from close range.
It was the perfect start for Mourinho's side and they took the lead in the 50th minute through Drogba.
The Ivorian hitman played a clever one-two with Kalou before sending a 20-yard curling effort beyond the outstretched Hahnemann for his first of the season.
The double salvo had stunned Reading who were now finding it difficult to cope with Chelsea's fluid attacking movement.
Mikel's extra physical presence in the centre of the Chelsea midfield had given Lampard some much-needed assistance and the pair were now dictating the pace of the game.
A rare Reading foray into the Chelsea half caused panic in the visiting defence, which ended with Doyle smashing the ball straight at Cech.
But it was an isolated moment for the home side and in the 68th minute Pizarro almost made it three for Chelsea when he sent a left-foot effort across the face of the goal.
Reading's woes continued when Kalifa Cisse was sent off for a foul on Pizarro on the 72nd minute and Chelsea held on comfortably to record their second successive win.
