Reading were defeated for the first time in three matches as Charlton comprehensively ran out 2-0 victors at the Madejski Stadium.

The Royals had the better of the early exchanges as George Puscas hit the bar, before the same man had a golden effort snuffed out by goalkeeper Dillon Phillips just before the break.

Charlton then opened the scoring through Jonathan Leko, his deflected strike outfoxed Rafael Cabral in the Reading goal. Addicks striker, Lyle Taylor, then wrapped up the three points as he dispatched his 5th goal of the season from the penalty spot.

It was a game in which Reading manager, José Gomes, will have learned a lot about his side heading into the international break.

Here are THREE things we learned in Reading's 2-0 defeat on Saturday...

Strikers must be clinical

Puscas and Lucas Joao started the game up top for the Royals, but neither could quite stamp their foothold on the game. Joao had a chance that he blazed over, and Puscas hit the woodwork before missing when being put through on goal. All of which were massive chances in the game, as at 0-0, the opening goal was always going to be crucial.

They have to be more clinical going forward into future games, we've seen so often in the Championship how vital that first goal is. They've both shown they can score goals in their brief start to life at Reading, but must continue to fire if they're to move up the division.

The Royals must find a way to play the press

What Charlton did so effectively on the weekend was pressurise the three Reading centre-backs. Tom McIntyre, Michael Morrison and Liam Moore hardly had time to breathe when they received the ball, as Lee Bowyer clearly saw them as influential to the way the Royals play.

Gomes and his side have to find a way to differentiate the play when this happens. Many other managers will now follow suit against this Reading side, meaning they have to come up with a way of countering the press.

Gomes made the substitutes too early

The Portuguese boss subbed off both wing-backs, Andy Yiadom and Omar Richards, with 25 minutes left. He brought on forwards, Lucas Boyé and Yakou Méité, who both seemed to go out wide where the wing-backs were playing. However, due to their lack of defensive awareness, the game tilted even further in Charlton's direction.

There was far too much space for Bowyer's side, and they had a number of great chances on the counter. Gomes went too early in terms of making those specific changes, and he'll need to rethink his decisions when going a goal down at the Madejski.