Mason Mount notched a second-half brace as Chelsea defeated Reading in a high-scoring pre-season friendly clash at the Madejski Stadium on Sunday.
Kick-off was delayed by 15 minutes in Berkshire due to ‘congestion on the roads in the vicinity and around the stadium’, but the match proved to be more than worth the wait as seven goals in total were scored during a hectic 4-3 win for Frank Lampard’s men.
It was a slow start from Chelsea, who earned an early reprieve when Liam Moore’s header struck the base of the post after a sweetly delivered corner from former Blues academy graduate John Swift.
That let-off proved to be short-lived, however, as Championship outfit Reading took the lead in fine style after 14 minutes.
Danny Loader delivered a pass to fellow youngster Josh Barrett, whose initial drive was blocked by Davide Zappacosta.
Chelsea hit back through Mount, who drove past Sam Walker after Tammy Abraham seized on a mistake before touching in from point-blank range after the replacement Reading goalkeeper – also formerly on Chelsea’s books – struck a woeful clearance straight at Michy Batshuayi.