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Sports

Tuesday August 4, 2009

Time to get smart, Carlo

LONDON: Carlo Ancelotti dressed down for his first match as Chelsea boss on English soil.

At AC Milan he was never seen in the technical area without an Armani suit.

But for the 2-2 draw at Reading on Saturday he wore a club tracksuit.

The message was clear: There was work to be done — and Mama Mia was he right. On this showing, it is Chelsea who need to get smart.

They shipped just one goal in four pre-season games up to Saturday, with wins over both Milan clubs on their United States tour.

But Chelsea old boy and Reading manager Brendan Rogers set out his side in an impressive 4-3-3 which closed down space quickly.

Ancelotti said: “Yes it was a lesson for us. All the great teams are targets for smaller clubs who fight harder and close space.

“But it is up to our attacking players to open up the spaces and make opportunities.”

It was Reading who took their chances beautifully in a first half which forgot its friendly tag.

Jimmy Kebe darted past Branislav Ivanovic on 38 minutes and sidestepped Petr Cech to roll home.

Then Shane Long ran at John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho, who seemed to be waiting for the other to make a tackle.

Skipper Terry eventually did — fouling Long on the edge of the penalty area — and Scott Davies scored with a pretty clever low free-kick. Ancelotti waved his hands in anger on the touchline.

He added: “Terry and Carvalho did not pressurise the striker enough.

“In pre-season this kind of mistake can happen, hopefully not after.”

Chelsea certainly looked a bit jaded after their American adventure.

But they managed to come back to score twice in the closing minutes as a Salomon Kalou strike and an own goal from Alex Pearce denied Rogers a memorable scalp.

But if this match is anything to go by, Reading will be Second Division contenders this term. — The Sun, London

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