Reading 2 Chelsea 2: Sub Le Fondre hits two in final five minutes to rock Rafa
High up in the stands at the Madejski Stadium, Chelsea’s firing squad were shaking their heads in disbelief.
On the field Adam Le Fondre was soaking it all up after rescuing Reading with another remarkable contribution after coming on as a substitute.
Chelsea Chairman Bruce Buck, technical director Michael Emenalo and chief executive Ron Gourlay were all present to witness their team wobble like jelly in the final minutes. The legs have gone in this Chelsea team, shot to bits as they limp from one fixture to the next.
By the time Le Fondre came on as a 67th minute substitute for Jobi McAnuff, Chelsea had only just finished celebrating Frank Lampard’s 196th goal.
By the time they walked off the field there were haunted looks, vacant expressions among the players after Le Fondre scored twice in the final minutes.
There will be twitches at Chelsea’s training ground this morning, with fear sweeping the corridors of power as the big men prepare for another brutal analysis. Buck, Gourlay and Emenalo always turn up at matches together when the going gets tough. For a club of Chelsea’s standing — the fifth biggest club in Europe in terms of revenue — this is as bad as it gets.
Really bad.
That heavyweight trio all report back to owner Roman Abramovich independently and naturally there are some serious misgivings about the managerial performance of Rafa Benitez. No-one could argue about that.
The rot has set in and Le Fondre made sure of it after securing one of the most unlikeliest points in the history of the Barclays Premier League.
They were two down and on the verge of their 13th defeat in the top flight when Le Fondre delivered a masterclass in finishing.
Chelsea’s fans were rubbing it in after Juan Mata’s sparkling performance put them on course for a fifth successive league win.
By the time Le Fondre scored Reading’s equaliser, 94 minutes and seven seconds into this game, it was back to the bad old days.
Benitez was getting it again as they made their way out of the stadium and Chelsea’s boardroom contingent would have been of much the same opinion, minus the bad language.
This is critical point for Benitez. It was embarrassing, revisiting Sunday’s shocking show in the FA Cup at Brentford with their failure to clear the ball in times of distress. They had done the hard yards, securing a two goal advantage thanks to the mastery of Mata.
He sparkled, latching on to Fernando Torres’ lofted pass over the Reading defence to score Chelsea’s opening goal.
It was a terrific move, a throwback to the good times when Chelsea used to carve teams open with their attacking thrust.
The players are there, particularly with the ability of Mata and Oscar. Mata, back in the starting line-up after he was rested at Griffin Park in the Cup, was also the architect of Chelsea’s second.
His outswinging corner met the head of Lampard and Chelsea’s stand-in skipper is now within six goals of Bobby Tambling after powering his header past Adam Federici. They should have been home and hosed. Instead there is another inquest after Le Fondre’s intervention.
Brian McDermott’s side are beginning to believe they can escape the drop. Le Fondre has scored five in his last three league games, establishing a reputation as a super-sub with crucial strikes.
McDermott said: ‘I speak to Adam as much as I can. I’d like to start him in matches, but we are trying to find a way of getting results. We are trying to find the solutions, but the boy’s happy and the team’s happy because of the past few results.
‘I’m pleased for him, but it’s difficult to pick the team at the moment. He trains like he wants to be the best and he’s getting better all the time.’
His finishes were of the highest order, reading the pass of Hope Akpan to flash a left-footed effort beyond keeper Ross Turnbull.
Even then Chelsea should have had enough to see this out, relying on players such as Gary Cahill and Branislav Ivanovic to shepherd them towards three points.
Instead they blew it, shutting down as Reading threw bodies into the box for one last effort.
By the time Akpan’s looping header made its way across the area, Reading had a queue of players waiting to beat Turnbull at the far post.
Inevitably it was that man Le Fondre who made the move for a stunning equaliser, taking full responsibility for Reading’s revival.
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