Reading were thrashed by an impressive Fulham side at the Madejski Stadium on Tuesday night.

The Royals were left shocked after the Cottagers scored three goals in the opening half hour of the fixture, which also saw Reading midfielder John Swift sent-off for a second yellow card.

It was Reading's fourth defeat in their last five Championship fixtures and the pressure is starting to mount on manager, Jose Gomes.

It doesn't get any easier for the Royals as they take on a strong Bristol City outfit on Saturday at Ashton Gate that could prove to be another tough fixture.

Here's THREE things we learned about Reading in their loss on Tuesday night...

Liam Moore needs to improve

The captain has started the season in really poor form and currently looks a shadow of the player that he was for the Royals last campaign.

It looks like he is missing playing next to Matt Miazga in a centre-back partnership that seemed to blossom last season. Miazga was on the bench on Tuesday night, and perhaps he should have started if he was fit enough to play.

Moore is in general a brilliant defender, and at Championship level has the ability to be one of the best, but he needs to get back to the basics or could find himself being dropped.

Strikers need to be more clinical

The forwards once more weren't clinical enough. George Puscas and Yakou Meite both had opportunities that they couldn't put away right before Fulham went in front and then Swift was sent-off. If they had gone in, it could have been a completely different game for the Royals but once more they were left with little threat in the penalty area.

They have to start improving and Puscas has to start showing that he's worth his price tag otherwise more and more supporters will begin to get on the Romanian's back.

Players must go back to basics when defending 

The goals were all atrocious in terms of defending and offered the opposition so much space, Ovie Ejaria was trying to play on the edge of his box and the centre-backs couldn't mark Aleksandar Mitrovic. Gomes has to get his team back to defending as a unit and doing the basic things right.

Clearing the ball and putting their body on the line is the least that Reading fans should expect from their side but they're not doing it and that needs to change.

 

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