It was a night to forget for many of Reading’s stars as they slumped to a 1-0 defeat against Queens Park Rangers.
Sam Walker impressed in goal with two good saves while Yakou Meite worked hard up front and Saeid Ezatolahi again showed his class, but the rest of the side must do more at West Brom on Saturday.
See the ratings from Saturday’s draw at Brentford here
Sone Aluko and Liam Kelly came into the team that drew against Brentford, but both failed to justify their selection in another drab display with Paul Clement admitting he got his team wrong.
SAM WALKER: Kept his spot despite Mannone returning to fitness and proved his worth with two smart saves – 7* (star man)
CHRIS GUNTER: Showed some nice touches and cleared one off the line but struggled to deal from Freeman at times – 5
TIAGO ILORI: Made a vital challenge in the first minute of the game and his pace helped keeper Walker relatively untroubled throughout – 6
LIAM MOORE: Endured a very shaky start but recovered to his usual composed self after the restart. Could’ve done more to prevent the goal – 5
ANDY YIADOM: Failed to quell the threat of Cousins and was targeted aerially throughout. Got forward well but would be better suited to RB – 5
SAEID EZATOLAHI: Often left exposed by his fellow midfielders but won the ball back well. Was booked for diving before being subbed off – 7
LEANDRO BACUNA: A dip in performance after impressing in recent weeks, often caught between pressing and sitting deep and lost his man for the goal – 5
LIAM KELLY: Brought back into the team but struggled to make an impact, losing the physical battle and not able to provide any killer passes before being subbed – 5
SONE ALUKO: Surprisingly restored to the starting line-up but produced another disappointing display before being taken off – 4
MO BARROW: Continues to struggle to recapture the form of last season, still yet to score this season, but did tee up Meite late on – 5
YAKOU MEITE: Handed a late call-up to start following Bodvarsson’s injury and battled hard all night despite a lack of service, hitting the post late on – 7
SUBS:
JOSH SIMS: Another lively cameo and must be wondering what he has to do to start. Was booked for a cynical foul – 6
JOHN SWIFT: Kept playing ticking nicely but could not find a way through a packed QPR defence late on – 6
MARC McNULTY: Given a rare chance for the final 10 minutes, but he looked rusty and failed to make an impact – 5
