READING were dealt more affliction in a dreadful week for the club as they were thumped by promotion pushing Fulham.
The result capped off a nightmare week for the Royals in what was their heaviest ever defeat at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.
The result leaves the Royals in deep trouble, just three points above the relegation zone having played one game more than 22nd placed Peterborough United.
Harry Wilson put the Whites ahead after 13 minutes by capitalising on a Josh Laurent mistake at the back.
Championship top scorer Aleksandar Mitrovic netted a brace, Wilson added a second to his tally, while Kenny Tete, Neeskens Kebano and Tosin Adarabioyo capped off the scoring to complete the thrashing.
After Saturday’s disaster away at Kidderminster Harriers in the FA Cup, Veljko Paunovic made six changes to the team which saw John Swift and Andy Carroll return to the starting line-up.
Among continued injury problems for the Royals, there were just six out of a possible seven players named on the substitutes bench.
Meanwhile, Marco Silva lined up with a full strength team that included Championship top scorer Aleksander Mitrovic, who had 22 goals to his name in 22 matches prior to kick-off.
Just five minutes into the match, there was yet another injury woe for Reading when Scott Dann went down injured to receive treatment.
That forced an early change as Mamadi Camara entered the action, with Josh Laurent dropping back into central defence to fill the void left by Dann.
Fulham’s high press caused the hosts all sorts of problems in their own half, but it was a mistake of Reading’s own doing that led to the first goal of the game.
With comfortable possession in their own half, Laurent played a blind pass across the face of his own goal unaware of the presence of Harry Wilson who was given a gift to tap the ball into a half empty net.
The Royals created their first chance of the match when John Swift flighted a cross into the box that was nodded down by Andy Carroll into the path of Camara, but he couldn’t get it under control.
Camara was then denied a terrific equaliser by a sublime save from Marek Rodak. Camara adapted brilliantly with a quick piece of thinking to backheel the ball towards the corner, but the Fulham keeper clawed the ball away.
Reading were unfortunate not to have been awarded a spot kick when Carroll appeared to have been tripped by the lunge of Tosin Adarabioyo, but the referee waved play on.
In an extraordinary minute of play, Carroll had the ball in the back of the net twice in quick succession but both were denied by the offside flag.
The first of which was a tremendous bicycle kick, before he volleyed a thunderbolt in from 25 yards only to be called offside.
Reading were given a hammer blow on the brink of the half-time whistle when Tom Holmes dove in with a naive challenge that tripped Wilson in the box and the referee pointed to the penalty spot.
Top scorer Mitrovic stepped up to the spot and drilled the ball into the bottom left corner out of the reach of Luke Southwood.
Fulham came out firing looking to add to their work from the first-half when goalscorers Mitrovic and Wilson combined, but the latter smacked the ball into the side netting.
Paunovic opted for an early change in the second-half as Andy Rinomhota entered the action in place of Dejan Tetek.
On the hour mark, the Whites put the points beyond doubt with a swiftly worked team move that was finished off from close range by Wilson who claimed his second goal of the evening.
Paunovic made his third and final change of the night by bringing on George Puscas for Drinkwater.
Things went from bad to worse, to disastrous for the Royals as Fulham added three more in a dominant display.
Mitrovic was allowed a free header to nod the ball in from close range for the fourth.
Kebano made a run to the back post to profit from a cross to tap in at the back post and Adarabioyo headed in from a corner for the sixth.
A miserable night for the hosts was finally ended with a seventh when Mitrovic tapped in a rebound.
The Royals are back in action on Saturday away at Middlesbrough.
Reading: Southwood, Bristow, Holmes, Dann, Tetek, Laurent (c), Drinkwater, Hoilett, Dele-Bashiru, Swift, Carroll
Subs: Rafael, Stickland, Rinomohta, Camara, Puscas, Clarke
Fulham: Rodak, Tete, Tosin, Ream, Robinson, Reed, Cairney (c), Wilson, Carvalho, Kebano, Mitrovic
Subs: Gazzaniga, Odoi, Hector, Chalobah, Francais, De Cordova-Reid, Muniz
Goals: Wilson 13’, 60’, Mitrovic 45+3’, 89′, Tete 68’, Kebano 70’, Tosin 75’
