Chelsea midfielder Cesare Casadei is off the mark for Reading.

Signed in January by the Championship club on-loan to June, Casadei struck a first senior goal in Reading's defeat to Blackburn Rovers in midweek.

The Italy U21 international was also named best afield on the night.

Casadei told Reading's website: “I have been waiting for this moment for a long time… but I am disappointed for the result because this is the most important thing!

“We wanted to grab these points.

“I am happy for the goal – and I am always happy when I can help the team with a performance or the goal.

“But we are disappointed for the result. I think that we need to bring with us all the good things that we did – keep working and look forward for the next game.

“We had a great performance in the first half, and the second half as well. And we created really good chances. But now we need to look forward – and that's it.

“We demonstrated that we are a really good team, and that we can compete with everyone. And we will push as hard as possible to win the next game."