By Mark Mitchener

Ballack (right) thanks Ferreira, who crossed for the only goal

Michael Ballack's first-half header helped Chelsea keep in touch with the leaders as Reading suffered their fifth successive Premier League defeat.

Ballack headed in Paulo Ferreira's right-wing cross in the 32nd minute as the Blues dominated the first half.

They were unable to score again in a nervy second half while Reading failed to make the most of several set-pieces.

The result meant Chelsea equalled a club record of nine successive wins in all competitions set in 2005.

Interview: Reading boss Steve Coppell

Interview: Chelsea boss Avram Grant

It also meant that Avram Grant's record in his first 29 wins is exactly the same as Jose Mourinho's.

Claude Makelele, wearing a plaster over his left ear, needed to be alert within the first minute of the game as the fit-again John Oster swung a corner in towards the near post, but Chelsea's stand-in skipper was able to clear.

606: DEBATE I have officially had it with our grey strip - we are better than not having an away win all season & anything is worth a shot Woters

But after that initial foray, Reading spent the majority of the first half camped in their own half, trying to repel wave after wave of Chelsea attacks.

The Blues were presented with an early opportunity when a lunging challenge by Kalifa Cisse on Shaun Wright-Phillips allowed Ballack to try his luck from 20 yards, but Marcus Hahnemann got down well to smother the free-kick.

The American then had to be alert to palm away a curling effort from Joe Cole, and spread himself well when Wright-Phillips hurdled a challenge from Graeme Murty and burst through on goal.

However, Hahnemann looked less than secure minutes later, when his weak punch at Cole's corner looked to be squirming towards goal until Oster hacked it away.

Cole threatened again when an attempted cross from the right took a deflection and looped just wide of Hahnemann's far post.

Reading were still searching for their first away league win since April 2007 - but without the injured Dave Kitson, lacked a focal point up front where Leroy Lita and Kevin Doyle were spectators for most of the first half as their nine team-mates battled to clear their lines.

And their resistance only lasted just over half-an-hour as Ferreira raced to the byeline to deliver a pin-point cross, and Ballack rose imperiously above Stephen Hunt and Ivar Ingimarsson to head home.

Hunt was booed throughout by the home fans after his collision with Cech last season saw the Chelsea goalkeeper suffer a fractured skull - and was later on the receiving end of a fierce two-footed challenge from Alex that went unpunished.

Anelka could not find the net on his first home start for Chelsea

The visitors won a succession of corners leading up to the interval without ever really threatening, but Chelsea nearly doubled their lead within 12 seconds of the restart as full-back Nicky Shorey was caught napping by Cole, who shot agonisingly wide.

At the other end, Cisse looped a 20-yard shot over the bar and Ingimarsson headed a Hunt free-kick tamely wide but Cech in the Chelsea goal was rarely troubled as the visitors pressed for an equaliser.

When captain Murty finally got a good cross in for the Royals, Lita looked well off the pace as he failed to anticipate where Doyle was going to nod the ball down.

Nicolas Anelka was relatively quiet on his first home start for Avram Grant's side, dragging a left-foot shot wide - and wasting an even better chance to make it 2-0 when he headed straight at Hahnemann.

Oster nearly made Chelsea pay late on when his free-kick curled just wide - although that was to be the winger's last action before he was replaced by Marek Matejovsky.

The Ferreira-Ballack combination nearly produced a second goal reminiscent of the first, but the German could not direct his header on target.

There was also time for ex-Reading favourite Steve Sidwell to make a brief appearance from the bench against his old side as time ran out.

"But we could have killed the game off before that because we had so many chances in the first half and the first 20 minutes of the second.

"Reading came back at us, they didn't create chances, but they were close to our box. We needed to defend and we defended well."

"This is a situation which has been developing for a long time. The league is clear-cut and for quite some time it's been any three from eight or nine.

"I don't think anybody in that group feels comfortable. We don't feel comfortable, we don't like being there, but we have plenty of games to do something about it."

Chelsea: Cech, Ferreira, Alex, Carvalho, Bridge, Wright-Phillips (Sidwell 85), Makelele, Ballack, Joe Cole, Anelka, Malouda (Pizarro 76).
Subs Not Used: Cudicini, Sinclair, Ben-Haim.

Goals: Ballack 32.

Reading: Hahnemann, Murty, Cisse, Ingimarsson, Shorey, Oster (Matejovsky 81), Harper, Hunt, Convey (Rosenior 85), Lita, Doyle.
Subs Not Used: Federici, De la Cruz, Bennett.

Att: 41,171

Ref: Mike Dean (Wirral).

BBC Sport Player Rater man of the match: Chelsea's Michael Ballack 8.07 (on 90 minutes).