Blackburn 2-4 Reading: Championship leaders continue fast start as Yakou Meite scores after just EIGHT seconds before Michael Olise, Josh Laurent and Lucas Joao strike in victory
- Reading extended their lead at the top of the Championship to seven points
- Forward Meite scored unbeaten Reading’s fastest ever competitive goal
- In-form Adam Armstrong guided home a beautiful equaliser for Blackburn
- Visitors netted two more before the 19th minute through Olise and Laurent
- Armstrong’s second gave the hosts hope but Joao sealed victory late on
To a best start to a league season for 35 years, Reading added their fastest ever goal as their stupendous start under Veljko Paunovic continued.
Eight games in, the quickest Reading team out of the blocks since the 1985-86 vintage began with 13 straight wins boast the country’s last unbeaten record and moved seven points clear at the top of the Championship.
‘It’s the most complete performance so far. I feel very proud. Our commitment to what we want to achieve is fantastic,’ Paunovic said.
Yakou Meite scored unbeaten Reading’s fastest ever competitive goal on Tuesday night
Meite capitalised on good fortune to score after only eight seconds – his third in two games
‘We always create positive expectations, and starting on the front foot was important for us.’
There were just eight seconds on the clock when Yakou Meite gleefully swept into an empty net after a fortuitous ricochet off Barry Douglas’ heels left debutant goalkeeper Aynsley Pears hopelessly out of position.
The quick-fire lead – beating Jimmy Kebe’s FA Cup opener against West Brom 10 years ago – was wiped out almost immediately when Harvey Elliott, the teenage Liverpool loanee, fed the ball in from the right and Adam Armstrong whipped it first-time inside Rafael Cabral’s left-hand upright for the first of his clinically-taken brace.
In-form forward Adam Armstrong guided home a beautiful equaliser for Blackburn
But parity only lasted until the quarter hour, as another teen in Michael Olise – whose long ball caused havoc at the start of the match – kept his composure to beat Pears after racing around the Blackburn backline.
And by the 18th minute it was 3-1 as Josh Laurent picked his spot from 20 yards to condemn Armstrong’s glancing header midway through the second half to consolation status.
Lucas Joao, who spent a loan spell at Ewood Park earlier in his career, sealed things with a breakaway fourth eight minutes from time.
Blackburn boss Tony Mowbray said: ’If we’d handled their strike force we would have won – we didn’t.’
The visitors netted two more before the 19th minute through Michael Olise and Josh Laurent
