Fernando Torres helped spare Chelsea from an early Premier League setback Wednesday, scoring the decisive goal as the European champions came from behind to beat newcomer Reading 4-2.
The unmarked Torres tapped the ball into the net from Ashley Cole's cross from what appeared to be an offside position in the 81st minute to make it 3-2.
A penalty from Frank Lampard after Chris Gunter had felled Hazard gave Chelsea the lead on 18 minutes but Reading hit back with two goals in five minutes. First Pavel Pogrebnyak headed past Petr Cech for the equaliser and then on 29 minutes the Chelsea keeper made a hash of stopping Danny Guthrie's free-kick and the visitors were in front.
For more than half an hour Reading kept their hosts at bay but another goalkeeping error on 69 minutes breathed life back into the Blues. Gary Cahill's speculative long-range shot should have been stopped by Adam Federici but all he could do was help the ball on its way into the net.
There was more than a touch of controversy about Chelsea's third goal on 81 minutes as Fernando Torres looked in an offside position when he ran onto Ashley's Cole pass. But the flag stayed down and Torres tapped the ball home.
Hazard got his third assist by setting Branislav Ivanovic free for the fourth goal in stoppage time of an entertaining match, and a victory that lifts Chelsea to the top of the table with two wins from two.
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“We are pleased with six points after two matches and we are very happy with the performance against Reading,” said Chelsea manager, Roberto Di Matteo.
“We attacked well and created several chances and the players looked like they were enjoying themselves.”
With a number of high-profile attacking players added to the squad, di Matteo added: “Keeping a good balance is going to be paramount in winning games this season. It is going to be a challenge.”
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