McDermott blames official for defeat

Reading manager Brian McDermott revealed his frustration after the 4-2 defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.

The Royals surrendered a 2-1 lead after Pavel Pogrebnyak and Danny Guthrie put the visitors in the lead following Frank Lampard’s opener from the penalty spot.

But Reading could not hold onto their lead as goals from Gary Cahill, Fernando Torres and a late Branislav Ivanovic strike sealed the win.

McDermott, however, was furious that the assistant referee did not see Torres in an offside position as he gave them the lead.

“We didn’t deserve to lose and I thought we were going to win it,” McDermott told reporters.

“I’m gutted. The linesman has got the decision wrong for the third goal. It’s not a good night for him, and unfortunately that means it’s not a good night for us.

“It was clearly offside, which is really disappointing. People make mistakes and he made one tonight.”