morning papers reading away

The TimesAugust 16, 2007
Bold moves by Mourinho help Chelsea to get the upper hand Reading 1 Chelsea 2Martin Samuel, Chief Football Correspondent
With one player sent off and nine booked, those fans who came expecting a grudge match will not have left the Madejski Stadium disappointed. In reality, though, this was a healing process, of sorts. Stephen Hunt and Petr Cech embraced after the game and the Reading man even left the field clutching a Chelsea shirt as a souvenir. This hard-fought victory may also have gone some way to soothing festering resentment in the Portuguese enclave of West London.
The previous time these teams met here, two Chelsea goalkeepers finished the day in hospital, with one receiving a permanent reminder of his stay. Last night, the only casualty was local pride; Reading must have been greatly buoyed by a deserved half-time lead and will have felt crushed that Chelsea should turn it on its head in the space of five minutes at the start of the second half.
As last year, Chelsea’s slender victory owed more to grit than polish, but when the league table shows maximum return from two matches and a four-point lead over Manchester United, who is complaining?
It was Frank Lampard who got Chelsea back into the game and Didier Drogba who won it for them, a familiar combination and a potent one. Equally recognisable is the boldness of José Mourinho, who responded to a poor first half, in which Chelsea threatened only through Lampard’s corners, by making changes that placed the emphasis on attack, with Shaun Wright-Phillips employed as an unlikely right back.
Suddenly Chelsea came alive. Lampard equalised in the 47th minute, Drogba scored in the 50th and there was barely a squeak out of Reading after that, save for the sending-off of Kalifa Cissé for what Mike Dean, the referee, perceived as a stamp on Claudio Pizarro but probably was not. At their best, Chelsea’s bloody-mindedness breaks hearts and minds, and that is what it did to Reading.
There are many that will never see the beauty in Lampard, but, fortunately, Mourinho is not among them. He picks him just about every week and the logic behind this loyalty was made plain last night. While also sticking to his team duties, Lampard contrives to get into scoring positions like no other central midfield player in England and his charge into the Reading penalty area – almost to the edge of the six-yard box – changed the match.
Pizarro, a substitute, won the first header, Drogba the second, but it was Lampard who followed the loose ball to journey’s end, slipping it past Mar-cus Hahnemann, the Reading goalkeeper, to give Chelsea an equality they scarcely deserved. The winner was more a work of art. Drogba won the ball, fed Kalou, got it back and then struck a shot from 25 yards that was goalbound from the moment it left his foot.
Preceding this reversal of fortune was a superb first-half display by Reading and it would not have flattered them had the scoreline read 3-0, capped by an out-of-character mistake by Cech, which led to the goal. None of these events was expected before kick-off.
Much of the acclaim for Reading’s superiority over 45 minutes should go to Hunt. In testing circumstances, he was outstanding, creating mayhem all over the pitch, most of it of the legal kind (he was booked in the 37th minute for a foul on Paulo Ferreira). He did not even shirk when, after 15 seconds, a loose ball on the slippery surface set up the chance of a challenge on Cech that would have mirrored their fateful coming together ten months ago. Hunt took it as far as he could go, but as the ball ran into touch, so he backed off. A lesser player would not even have gone there.
At other times he was involved in Reading’s best football and some of the most bone-shuddering challenges. He even took corners in front of the hostile away end, and were it not for excellent covering work by Tal Ben Haim in the seventeenth minute, could have marked the night with a goal. His battle with Steve Sidwell, his former teammate, was particularly wholehearted and helped to give Reading a deserved lead.
Sidwell’s 29th-minute foul on Hunt afforded the break in play that Steve Coppell, the Reading manager, needed to replace the injured Michael Duberry with Andre Bikey, sent off when these teams previously met at the Madejski Stadium. He made quite an impression on this occasion, too.
Nicky Shorey launched a free kick that was won in the air by Ivar Ingima-rsson, the central defender, forcing an uncharacteristic moment of misjudgment from Cech. The giant goalkeeper launched himself at the ball, attempting to punch, and took out two of his defenders instead, under pressure from Kevin Doyle, the Reading striker. The ball ran loose to Bikey, who had the easy task of tapping it into an empty net, from three yards, if that.
There was a suspicion that Doyle had put Cech off with a raised hand but it was hard to begrudge Reading the lead. What surprised was the weakness of their reaction when Chelsea hit back. Maybe they blew themselves out with the high tempo early on. Maybe the challenge of getting a point at Old Trafford with ten men, followed by a match against the league’s most physically punishing team, was too much. The fixtures secretary cannot like Reading for next up are curmudgeonly Everton. After this, though, they represent welcome respite.
Reading (4-4-2): M Hahnemann — G Murty, M Duberry (sub: A Bikey, 29min), I Ingimarsson, N Shorey — J Oster, J Harper, K Cissé, S Hunt — K Doyle, S Long. Substitutes not used: B Gunnarsson, Seol Ki Hyeon, U De la Cruz, A Federici. Booked: Long, Cissé, Hunt, Ingimarsson. Sent off: Cissé.
Chelsea (4-4-2): P Cech — P Ferreira (sub: J O Mikel, 46), T Ben Haim, R Carvalho (sub: G Johnson, 31), A Cole — S Wright-Phillips, S Sidwell (sub: C Pizarro, 46), F Lampard, F Malouda — S Kalou, D Drogba. Substitutes not used: C Cudicini, J Cole. Booked: Carvalho, Sidwell, A Cole, Wright-Phillips, Mikel.
Referee: M Dean. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Telegraph:
Chelsea profit as Mourinho's tactics pay off By Oliver Brown
Reading (1) 1 Chelsea (0) 2
At a stroke, Jose Mourinho ensured that Chelsea's return to Reading would be remembered not for Petr Cech or Stephen Hunt, but for his own tactical inspiration.
Enmities were simmering at the Madejski Stadium last night, with Chelsea supporters well recalling Hunt's skull-breaking challenge on the Czech goalkeeper 10 months ago, but Mourinho brushed aside the sub-plots as he transformed an unlikely first-half deficit into a galvanising win.
It was on another dank night in strange surrounds last season when Chelsea's vulnerabilities had emerged in defeat to Middlesbrough in only their second game. Mourinho was not about to commit the same error twice. Ascribing an early goal for Reading defender Andre Bikey to a brief aberration, he replied by allowing Claudio Pizarro to join the attack in an irresistible three-striker system - the clearest evidence yet of his "beautiful blueprint" and fully justified by two goals in three minutes for Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba.
Explaining this ingenuity, the manager said: "We made the changes and I explained the objectives. The players were brave to accept some difficult situations."
The changes were stark, as Shaun Wright-Phillips switched to right-back while Florent Malouda anchored midfield. But when the rethink enabled Chelsea to build a four-point lead over Manchester United just five days into the season, few were arguing.
Such was the aplomb shown by Wright-Phillips in an alien position, Mourinho might have been tempted to call off the quest for Sevilla's Daniel Alves. The Brazilian full-back, who was left out of the Spanish club's Champions League qualifying round tie against AEK Athens last night, has been linked with a £21.5 million move to Stamford Bridge, but Chelsea claim there is still no agreement. Mourinho acknowledged: "We try to buy him, but the situation is not done."
Mourinho had tried, abortively, to throw three strikers forward in an FA Cup defeat to Newcastle in his first season and was roundly questioned. On last night's more successful experiment, he said: "I knew it was a big gamble, but if one day it doesn't work, I'm criticised. I accept the criticism, but I sleep well because I tried."
The defining incident of this fixture last season - or, more accurately, Mourinho's histrionic reaction to it - had stirred up an animosity between the teams, with Reading supporters perversely barracking Cech's every clearance. Judging by Steve Sidwell's reception, the midfielder's defection to Chelsea was also seen as a betrayal.
Ironically, it was Hunt, the pariah of the evening, who gave Chelsea cause for concern with his lively surges into the box. In the early exchanges, only the muscular intervention of Tal Ben Haim prevented him from scoring.
There was a raggedness about Chelsea's play, and after 29 minutes Nicky Shorey's free kick, nudged into the box by Ivar Ingimarsson, left Cech floundering. There were few players more surprised than substitute Bikey, who took one touch - his first of the game - to steer Reading into the lead.
But Mourinho then engineered his half-time changes and the dividends were immediate. Lampard, not content to lie deep, profited from Drogba's deft header to surge through Reading's scattered back line with ease. Holding off Shorey, the England midfielder showed consummate control to angle his shot beyond Marcus Hahnemann.
With Reading at their most vulnerable, it was Drogba's turn to pounce. Again, Shorey was the unfortunate victim of some irresistible play as the Ivorian cut in to unleash a superb strike from 22 yards past Hahnemann.
"At 2-1, all the energy we had in the first half evaporated very quickly," Steve Coppell, the Reading manager, said.
Stunned, Reading lapsed all too easily into impatience, and Kalif Cisse was sent off for a second yellow card as he challenged Pizarro heavily. The decision looked dubious, but Chelsea's damage had already been done.
Man of the match: Didier Drogba (Chelsea)---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Indy:
Reading 1 Chelsea 2: Drogba's neat finish rewards Mourinho gamble By Conrad Leach
There was an FA Cup match that Chelsea played at Newcastle in February 2005 when Jose Mourinho used all his substitutes at half-time and ended up losing the game, with an injury then reducing his team to 10 men before the end.
It was a tactical move the Blues' manager promised not to repeat, but here at the Madejski Stadium the Portuguese had once more made all his changes before the second half. However, five minutes after half-time, unlike at St James' Park, a deficit had been turned into an advantage and a repeat of history was averted. It was an advantage they held on to for their second win of the season and true to their manager's pre-season word, Chelsea are good to watch again.
However, history of an even more recent vintage was very much on the agenda in Berkshire. It usually takes decades to build up an enmity on the scale that now exists between these two teams, but in their case it only took one match. That was last October, when Stephen Hunt accidentally collided with Petr Cech, his knee hitting the Chelsea goalkeeper in the head. It left Cech with a fractured skull and led to lingering recriminations. Cech was also out for three months and returned with the skull cap he wears in every game. To show what this victory meant for Mourinho, you only had to see him pump his fist at the final whistle to realise memories of the Cech incident are still fresh.
From the outset Chelsea were indifferent and outplayed. In the second half, they ripped into Steve Coppell's men with the result that Frank Lampard levelled Andre Bikey's goal after 47 minutes. A Claudio Pizarro header was nudged on by Didier Drogba to the midfielder and he steered his shot around Marcus Hahnemann.
Three minutes later and the Londoners had the advantage when Nicky Shorey poked the ball to Drogba, who, from 22 yards, curled his shot past Hahnemann for the winner. Reading's cause was not helped when, with 18 minutes left, their debutant Kalifa Cissé was sent off for his second yellow card – a foul on Pizarro.
The game had changed with Mourinho's alterations and he explained: "At half-time I asked if there were any unfit players as I wanted to make two changes. They said no, so I made my changes. The players were brave and accepted what they had to do on the pitch."
With Ricardo Carvalho's early injury, the changes included Shaun Wright-Phillips playing well at right-back and Glen Johnson adapting to playing centre-back. Mourinho also revealed that John Terry is fit enough to play at Liverpool this weekend, adding: "Steve McClaren can drink some champagne."
Mourinho was not in the mood for celebrating when Reading took a deserved lead after 29 minutes. From a long punt by Shorey, Ivar Ingimarsson knocked the ball down, Cech missed his punch and the ball ran to Bikey who tapped into the net, 20 seconds after coming on to the pitch. It could have been worse for Chelsea when John Oster hit the post five minutes later. They survived that and have now come from behind in both games so far.
Goals: Bikey (30) 1-0; Lampard (47) 1-1; Drogba (50) 1-2.
Reading (4-4-2): Hahnemann; Murty, Ingimarsson, Duberry (Bikey, 29), Shorey; Oster (Seol, 79), Cissé, Harper, Hunt; Long, Doyle. Substitutes not used: Federici (gk), Gunnarsson, De la Cruz
Chelsea (4-4-2): Cech; Ferreira (Pizarro, h-t), Carvalho (Johnson, 31), Ben Haim, A Cole; Wright-Phillips, Sidwell (Mikel, h-t), Lampard, Malouda; Drogba, Kalou. Substitutes not used: Cudicini (gk), J Cole.
Referee: M Dean (Wirral).
Booked: Reading Cissé, Hunt, Long, Ingimarsson; Chelsea A Cole, Carvalho, Mikel, Sidwell, Wright-Phillips.
Sent off: Cissé (72).
Man of the match: Drogba.
Attendance: 24,031.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Drogba digs Chelsea out of trouble after Mourinho reshuffle
Dominic Fifield at the Madejski StadiumThursday August 16, 2007The Guardian
There was a period last night when Petr Cech must have felt condemned only to suffer in this corner of Berkshire, yet by the end there was redemption to be had in victory. Chelsea, outplayed through the first period, recovered breathlessly courtesy of the sheer boldness of their manager. With the goalkeeper relieved and Jose Mourinho triumphant, last year's traumas in this arena can truly be forgotten now. Mourinho's reaction at the final whistle, punching the air as he roared his approval, was a demonstration both of the resistance encountered against a slick Reading side and of the scars that were inflicted here 10 months ago. Cech had been carried off on that occasion, his skull fractured following an inadvertent clash with Stephen Hunt in the opening 20 seconds. The fall-out from that incident, and the subsequent departure of the reserve goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini on a stretcher that night, had tarnished the build-up.
Yet while this game was played with a real edge and punctuated with yellow cards and a late red for Kalifa Cissé, it ended with a hug between Cech and the excellent Hunt. The goalkeeper had been culpable for the home side's goal. The visitors needed the manager's tactical re-invention at the interval, with Shaun Wright-Phillips and Florent Malouda switched to wing-backs and an extra striker thrust on. Mourinho, however mellow, will always be a risk taker."I knew it was a big gamble but, if one day it doesn't work, like it didn't in my first season at Newcastle [in an FA Cup tie], I'll accept the criticism," said the Portuguese. "I'll sleep well because I tried. The worst thing in life is when you don't try. That's the message I give to my kids all the time and, in my job, I do the same. If, in the second minute of the second half, somebody was injured and we'd have to play with 10 men for 43 minutes, fair enough. That's a risk that's part of the job."
Chelsea had needed his radical overhaul. They had been becalmed throughout a first half dominated by Reading but, from nowhere, generated such blistering momentum in the moments after the interval as to re-establish their class. Within two minutes of the re-start, Claudio Pizarro and Didier Drogba had combined for Frank Lampard to burst beyond Nicky Shorey's lunge and spear the visitors level. With Reading still dazed, Drogba exchanged passes with Salomon Kalou and curled a stunning second beyond the despairing Marcus Hahnemann from 20 yards to thrust them ahead.
"The players were brave," added Mourinho. "It's not easy for Shaun to play right-back, for Glen Johnson to play centre-half or for attacking players to have defensive tasks." The manager had already lost Ricardo Carvalho to a thigh problem, though his likely absence will be tempered by the return of John Terry from knee-ligament damage. The England captain trained with the reserves yesterday and will be available for England's qualifiers against Israel and Russia next month.
For Reading there was no disgrace in this defeat, even if theirs was a sense of deflation at the end. Steve Coppell's side had been dignified in the fall-out from last year's clash but they tore into this rematch so breathlessly that Chelsea were initially forced into retreat. The hosts were scintillating in the first half, hitting the post through John Oster from Hunt's fine cross and gaining a lead they merited through the substitute André Bikey after Cech's rare mistake.
Shorey's free-kick had been pumped into the area from distance on the half-hour, with Ivar Ingimarsson jumping to loop a header into the six-yard box. The goalkeeper came to claim but, perhaps distracted by the arm thrust up inadvisedly by Kevin Doyle or by the presence of Steve Sidwell and Tal Ben Haim immediately in front of him, missed his punch. The loose ball bounced through the panicked clutter for Bikey to convert with his first touch. Other chances were passed up, Cech claiming Doyle's shot on the turn, and, while the locals rejoiced in their lead, Coppell implied the home side's ultimate frustration had its roots in profligacy.
"We might have been further ahead at half-time but we knew they'd change it," he said. "We just didn't know how they'd change it. Jose was brave but it's easier to be brave when you've got £70m worth of talent on the bench. He's a terrific manager but all the big teams have got bigger guns than everyone else, more toys, more options. But consistently he has done it and it's been effective. Today was the same."
The Reading manager was disappointed with Cissé's dismissal on his home debut, the Frenchman booked for a second time when he ran his studs down Pizarro's shin 16 minutes from time, even if the Peruvian's reaction was somewhat dramatic. "His sock was laddered so it must have been a bad injury given that it was over his shin pad," added Coppell with a wry smile. "Chelsea knew they were in a game here. The way Jose celebrated at the end shows how important this victory was."
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Mail:
Bikey puts pedal down but Drogba overtakesReading 1 Chelsea 2
By NEIL ASHTON
Jose Mourinho fielded a string of highprofile summer signings at Reading last night, but the names on the scoresheet remain the same.
While the rest of this Chelsea team still need some fine-tuning as they settle into their Premiership stride, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba did what they do best.
Like reliable old motors, they never stopped running and secured Chelsea's second successive victory in a devastating three-minute spell.
They scored 31 times in the Premiership last season and underlined their importance to Chelsea with the clinical strikes that took them level with Everton and Manchester City at the top of the table.
To do it, Mourinho had to make sweeping half-time changes, but he was rewarded for his bravery. He sacrificed Steven Sidwell and Paulo Ferreira, sent Shaun Wright-Phillips to right back and added Claudio Pizarro to his attack. Until then, Reading had been rampant. Steve Coppell's side set the tone with a vibrant first-half performance and they took advantage of a rare mistake by Petr Cech to claim a deserved lead in 30th minute.
It took the Chelsea keeper 100 days to recover from the fractured skull he suffered in this stadium last season and it may take another 100 to put this performance to bed.
Stephen Hunt, cast as the villain by Mourinho last October after his collision with Cech, was the centre of attention again when they took the lead.
Sidwell marked his Madejski Stadium return with the foul on Hunt that led to Reading's goal. Nicky Shorey, improving with each game, launched a long free-kick and Chelsea's defence did the rest.
Ivar Ingimarsson rose unmarked to steer a header towards the sixyard box and when Cech failed to connect with a punch, Andre Bikey tapped the gift into an empty net.
It was the Reading defender's first touch after coming on as a substitute for Michael Duberry and it was fitting reward for a remarkable first half performance. But then, with the scent of a famous victory filling the air, they wilted under the weight of expectation.
As Coppell confessed, they should have scored a second when John Oster hit a post and James Harper sent an inviting rebound flying over Cech's crossbar.
Impressive as they were, one goal was never likely to be enough against a team with heavy artillery in reserve. Playing four up front in the second half was as desperate as it was daring, but it paid dividends for Mourinho. Reading missed Duberry after the break and the former Chelsea defender certainly would not have allowed Lampard to bulldoze his way into the box.
Coppell was unhappy with his team's defending for the equaliser. Lampard left them like sitting ducks when he ran through their defence unopposed before sending a sweet left-foot strike beyond Marcus Hahnemann.
And before Reading could even dust themselves down and find a way to restore the advantage, Chelsea were in front. Drogba came on as a substitute during their 3-2 victory over Birmingham last Sunday and narrowly failed to open his account against Steve Bruce's side with a 50-yard strike.
Not a problem. The Chelsea striker scored 33 goals in all competitions last season and that kind of quality does not disappear.
One touch is all it takes and his winning goal was a beauty. He exchanged passes with Wright- Phillips, who has played his way into Chelsea's team with two colossal performances, before sweeping a curled effort beyond the Reading keeper from just outside the box.
That broke Reading's resistance and there was no way back after Kalifa Cisse was harshly sent off for a second yellow card. Cisse and Harper were behind Reading's firsthalf blitzkrieg, but they were down to 10 men when the Frenchman, signed from Boavista in the summer, was sent off in the 74th minute.
He had already been booked in the first half — one of 10 entries in Mike Dean's notebook — when Pizarro upset the Premiership's purists by collapsing in a heap after Cisse nipped his ankle.
It barely merited a free-kick, but Reading were unable to respond. If there is one team in the Premier League well-versed in protecting a lead it is Chelsea and they did just that by running down the clock.
They even repelled the efforts of Hahnemann, who came out of his goal in the final minutes to act as an auxiliary defender, when he launched one final missile into Chelsea's penalty area.
Cech came to claim the ball, missed his chance, and as the ball set up kindly for Hunt, the Reading midfielder miscued horribly.
Within seconds, they were locked in an emotional embrace, but there was more to that than just his miss. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mirror:
GAMBLER JOSE GOES 4WARDS BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUEReading 1 Chelsea 2Mourinho's masterstroke helps to spare blushes of dud Cech Martin Lipton 16/08/2007 The special One conjured a turnaround of champions last night and delivered another spectacular example of what sets Jose Mourinho apart from the ordinary mortals.
On a night when Petr Cech returned to the ground where he cannot remember how close he came to losing his life and experienced a evening he will want to forget, Mourinho pulled a stunning rabbit out of the hat to see Chelsea end the first week of the new season four points clear of Manchester United.
Goals from Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba came within five minutes of the Blues boss going for broke and playing four up front after they trailed when Andre Bikey cashed in on a staggering blunder by Cech.
And while Mourinho praised his "brave" players for responding to adversity, the Chelsea boss pledged he will always be faithful to his instincts.
"Yes, it was a big gamble," said Mourinho. "But I will always sleep well because the worst thing is life is not to try. If you fail, you fail, and if it hadn't worked, like at Newcastle in the FA Cup in my first season, I knew I would be criticised.
"But that's part of being a manager. You have to try all the time. That is what I tell my kids and it's the same in my job."
Chelsea needed a manager who dares to think the unthinkable after a desperate opening display, capped when Cech clattered into Kevin Doyle and punched fresh air rather than the ball to let Bikey score with his first touch after jogging on to the pitch to replace injured Michael Duberry.
While Bikey's goal owed everything to Cech's horrible aberration - it was no more than Coppell's side deserved.
Stephen Hunt is destined to spend his career with pariah status among Chelsea fans after the events of last October but last night he was a fizz-ball of energy.
He caused sheer chaos as Mourinho's decision to give Steve Sidwell a debut start against his former club backfired horribly.
And Hunt's effervescence rubbed off on his team-mates, none more so than John Oster, who gave Ashley Cole a torrid time. Even after Bikey netted, Chelsea were no more organised, especially after limping Ricardo Carvalho was replaced by Glen Johnson.
Surely even Mourinho could not have envisaged the impact his bravery would have.
He pushed Shaun Wright-Phillips to right back and went with four up front as Claudio Pizarro and John Obi Mikel came on. And two minutes after the interval, Pizarro rose to nod on and when Drogba read his intentions and did similarly, Lampard rampaged through, shrugging aside Nicky Shorey and firing past Marcus Hahnemann.
Three minutes later Drogba showed the instincts that earned him last season's 31-goal Golden Boot, keeping hold of the ball under pressure from Ivar Ingimarsson, spreading out wide right to Salomon Kalou and smashing home the return from 20 yards.
"It's easy to be brave when you have £70million worth of players on the bench," sighed a disappointed Coppell, who had debutant Kalifa Cisse sent off for a second yellow card.
"He's got more toys than everybody else, but he's a terrific manager.
Reading: Hahnemann 7, Murty 6, Duberry 6 (Bikey 29, 6), Ingimarsson 7, Shorey 6, Oster 7 (Seol 79), Harper 7, Cisse 6, Hunt 7, Long 7 (Gunnarsson 74, 6), Doyle 7.
Chelsea: Cech 5, Ferreira 6 (Pizarro, 46, 6), Ben Haim 6, Carvalho 6 (Johnson 31, 5), A Cole 6, Wright-Phillips 7, Sidwell 5 (Mikel 46, 6), Lampard 6, Malouda 6, Drogba 8, Kalou 6.
36% POSSESSION 64%
5 SHOTS ON TARGET 5
6 SHOTS OFF TARGET 8
2 OFFSIDES 3
4 CORNERS 5
16 FOULS 22
3 YELLOW CARDS 5
1 RED CARDS 0
ATTENDANCE: 24,031
Man Of The Match: Drogba ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sun:
Reading 1 Chelsea 2 By SHAUN CUSTISAugust 16, 2007 IF you talk the talk by calling yourself the Special One you have to able to walk the walk. Jose Mourinho’s bold gamble to change tactics and use all his three subs by the start of the second half could have blown up in his face.
But it paid off spectacularly — turning disaster into triumph.
Petr Cech had opened the door to Reading with a howler as he missed his punch and gifted Andre Bikey a 30th- minute goal only 10 seconds after coming on. But Grand Master Mourinho produced check-mate at the break and got his normally reliable keeper off the hook.
With Glen Johnson already on for the injured Ricardo Carvalho, Mourinho introduced Claudio Pizarro and Mikel John Obi as well.
He also switched winger Shaun Wright-Phillips to right-back, went with four up front and won the game within five minutes of the re-start thanks to goals by captain Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba.
It was a stroke of genius but Mourinho was honest enough to admit such moves do not always come off.
Two-and-a-half years ago in the FA Cup at Newcastle he put on three subs at half-time only for Wayne Bridge to get injured, reducing his team to 10 men and they were KO’d.
But if you don’t by a ticket you cannot win the raffle and Mourinho’s boldness has given Chelsea a four-point lead over champions Manchester United with only two games gone.
It is a crucial early lead in a campaign which is expected to be one of the most fiercely contested for years.
Yet up to half-time, Chelsea looked anything but title contenders. The bitter memories of last season’s clash at The Madejski — which saw Cech suffer a serious head injury in a collision with Stephen Hunt — seemed to have left the Blues with a collective hangover.
They struggled to get going and Reading old boy Steve Sidwell, given his full Chelsea debut, was overwhelmed in midfield.
The impressive Ivar Ingimarsson headed wide from six yards before the Royals took the lead after Bikey replaced the injured Michael Duberry.
Big defender Bikey ambled into the opposition penalty area for Nicky Shorey’s free-kick and could not believe his luck as Ingimarsson headed across, Cech flapped at fresh air and an empty net loomed.
The shellshocked Blues then lost Carvalho and were almost two down by the 33rd minute.
Kevin Doyle’s cross found John Oster and the winger’s volley rebounded back off the post. Chelsea were all over the place.
The Reading fans were enjoying the moment of glory chanting “Sidwell, Sidwell what’s the score.”
Cech, meanwhile, got the predictable “dodgy keeper” taunts every time the ball came near him. Mourinho, sat po-faced on the bench, not amused.
Drastic action was called for and the manager conjured up his tactical magic.
The result saw Pizarro flicking the ball on then Drogba followed suit and Lampard, anonymous in the first half, powered into the box.
He controlled the ball with his head, knocked it on and was too strong for England’s new full-back Shorey as he slid a shot under Marcus Hahnemann to register a 47th- minute equaliser.
The American keeper, hero of Reading’s hard-fought draw at Old Trafford last Sunday, was picking the ball out of the net again three minutes later.
This time Drogba was both creator and finisher.
Playing his first full game of the season having recovered from a knee injury, the Ivory Coast ace held the ball up the way he does best before feeding Salomon Kalou.
The youngster took a touch, played it back into the striker’s path and Drog smacked a curling 20-yard shot beyond the despairing Hahnemann.
Lampard and Drogba are absolute goal-machines. They bagged over 30 League goals between them last season and are off and running once more.
Chelsea fans were not slow to take the mickey. Now it was their turn to chant ‘Sidwell, Sidwell what’s the score.’
Highly amusing but it did not augur well for the Blues new signing that his withdrawal from the action prompted the Chelsea revival.
Kalifa Cisse’s dismissal for a second yellow, when he was late on Pizarro, meant there was no hope of a Reading comeback and Chelsea comfortably held on.
Nice to see Hunt and Cech exchanging a hug at the end — hopefully that is the end of the feud.
Reading boss Steve Coppell reckoned Pizarro milked the foul which saw Cisse dismissed and was disappointed his side did not make their first-half dominance count.
Mourinho showed by the way he punched the air at the end that this was a well won three points.
He said: “I know what I did was a big gamble but if one day it doesn’t work like that time at Newcastle you have to accept the criticism.
“But the worst thing in life is not to try. That’s what I tell my kids. If you fail, you fail, but you have to try.”
It has not been plain sailing by any means but Chelsea have that look about them of a couple of seasons ago when they could pull wins out of the fire when the heat was on.
So have they got United in a stranglehold already? “Give me a couple of months and we will see,” observed Mourinho.
He may be playing a straight-bat publicly — but Chelsea are on the front foot.