Reading 2 (Kebe 37, Davies 44)
Chelsea 2 (Kalou 89, Pearce (og) 90+2)

Reading ended their pre-season with an impressive performance and a creditable 2-2 draw against Premier League title contenders Chelsea, although the Royals will be a touch disappointed not to have won the game, having seen a 2-0 lead slip away in the dying minutes.

First half strikes from Jimmy Kebe and Scott Davies gave the Royals a strong lead at the break and their defence looked like it would do the rest, along with some great work by 'keeper Adam Federici.

However Chelsea's supremacy in the second half finally told, as Salomon Kalou pulled a goal back with 89 minutes on the clock, and the comeback was finally complete when Alex Pearce unfortunately headed into his own net from a Florent Malouda free kick, two minutes into injury time.

Reading (4-3-3): Federici; Rosenior, Bertrand, Cisse, Pearce (c); Gunnarsson (Bikey HT), Tabb (Harper 56), Davies (Mooney 65); Robson-Kanu (N. Hunt HT), Kebe (Henry 78), Long (Church 56)
Subs: Hamer, Armstong, Karacan, Sigurdsson

Chelsea (4-4-2): Cech (Turnbull 77); Ivanovic (Bosingwa HT), A. Cole, Terry (c), Carvalho (Alex HT); Mikel, Lampard, Essien (Belletti 65), Deco (Kalou HT); Drogba (Sturridge 65), Anelka (Malouda 65)
Subs: Zhirkov

Full report
The visitors fielded a star studded line-up and initially their class was evident, as they dominated the early exchanges.

Frank Lampard hit a trademark curling shot from 25 yards, which was well saved by keeper Adam Federici, before Chelsea captain John Terry headed narrowly over from a corner.

Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka continued to pile the pressure on the Royals, with a series of half chances, yet as the first half wore on, Reading began to bring themselves into contention and create some chances of their own.

17 minutes in, Scott Davies - who replaced Marek Matejovsky in the starting line up, after the Czech international failed a late fitness test on a groin injury - nearly put the hosts in front, but the midfielder failed to get anything on a whipped cross by Jimmy Kebe, when just a touch would have beaten Petr Cech.

Despite the Royals seeing more of the ball midway through the half, it was Chelsea that created the lion's share of the chances, with Federici having to be constantly alert to again deny Drogba and Anelka.

And the the Aussie stopper produced his best save of the lot, in turning a drilled effort by Michael Essien over the bar.

Yet just when the Blues seemed to be taking control, the game was turned on its head.

Hal Robson-Kanu managed to get a shot off on the edge of the visitors' box, with the ball ricocheting off two Chelsea players and finding Kebe.

The Mali international used the small space that he had to round the stranded Cech, and kept his nerve to slot home and put his side ahead.

Chelsea almost found an instant reply through a curling shot from Anelka, which Federici did well to tip around the post, but it was Reading that ended the half on a high, as with seconds remaining before the break, a great piece of work by Shane Long saw Reading double their advantage.

The Irishman showed sublime skill to collect and control a long ball, before breaking away and taking on both Terry and Ricardo Carvalho, slipping between the two centre-backs.

As a result, Long was brought down on the edge of the area and Davies - who had looked a threat for much of the half - stepped up and produced a superb finish to drill the free kick low and hard around the wall, into the bottom corner.

Second half
Changes were made 'en masse' at half-time by both sides, but once again it was the visitors that were fastest out of the traps, and this time they did not relent.

Federici was called into action once more with a point blank save to block a Lampard header, and Drogba should have done better - poking wide when he should have at least hit the target from eight yards.

Reading struggled to create chances as they tried to hold back the waves of Chelsea attacks; their one real chance of the second period fell to James Henry - who shot high and wide with his first touch, having replaced Kebe.

The visitors continued to pile on the pressure but for all their chances, it seemed as though Reading's dogged defending would pay off and when Pearce and Ryan Bertrand combined to somehow deny Kalou on the goal line with six minutes remaining, it seemed as though Chelsea would not find the illusive goal and the Royals would hold on for a stunning victory.

But eventually, with just a minute left of normal time, the dam burst - substitute Salomon Kalou breaking through one-on-one with Federici and duly taking his chance to finally put one past the heroic Aussie.

That goal could have been just a consolation but to their credit, Chelsea pushed for the draw - with the announcement of three minutes of injury time sparking rapturous chanting from the away fans behind the goal being attacked by their team.

And with two of the three minutes up, the Blues snatched the equaliser that their second half pressure had warranted.

James Henry's foul on replacement Jose Bosingwa allowed the visitors to get one more ball into the box and Malouda's delivery was good, with the midfielder placing the ball in the vicinity of the another substitute, Alex.

Pearce tried to challenge the towering Brazilian, but unfortunately for the skipper - who had been outstanding in defence to that point - he could only manage to direct the ball into his own net, completing Chelsea's comeback, which for so long, did not look like it would come.

Despite the obvious disappointment of losing a two-goal advantage late in the game, Brendan Rodgers will undoubtedly be pleased with what was largely a terrific performance against a very strong side, and Reading's new boss will be able to take plenty of positives from the game into next Saturday's season opener against Nottm Forrest.