Reading 3-1 Colchester United: Player Ratings

Luke Southwood: 6

Rarely troubled on his debut, but Southwood looks like he’ll be a confident back-up to Rafael this season. Showed good reactions to prevent a Morrison own goal in the first half.

Felipe Araruna: 6

A mixed afternoon for the Brazilian. A little suspect defensively and Colchester’s goal came down his side, but looked good going forward - putting in a fantastic cross for Joao’s first goal.

Liam Moore: 6

A strong afternoon for Moore who calmed Reading down as they found themselves under the cosh early on. Made a particularly key block in the first half.

Michael Morrison: 6

Much like Moore, Morrison was largely solid and had little to do as the game wore on. Blocks, tackles and clearances aplenty. Got the assist for Joao’s third.

Ethan Bristow: 6

A decent debut for the youngster, who didn’t particularly stand out but equally didn’t do much wrong. Will be interesting to find out how much more we see of him this season with Omar Richards currently the only senior left-back.

Josh Laurent: 7

A calm and composed presence in the middle of the park, Laurent was at the heart of the majority of Reading’s passages of play. The first half saw him sit fairly deep and even drop into the backline on occasions, while in the second half he had a couple of half chances to get a debut goal.

Michael Olise: 7

As bright and as energetic as ever, Olise was Reading’s main creative threat and was also placed on set piece duty. A great through ball set up Joao’s second goal, and the youngster could have had another assist in similar fashion had Melvin-Lambert tucked away a late chance.

Sone Aluko: 5

Underwhelming in a central role in the first half but did improve when he was played out on the left in the second half. Showed some good skill without creating an awful lot.

Marc McNulty: 4

This season could be a fresh start for McNulty but today wasn’t how he would have wanted it to start. Played wide on the right, he made some good runs in behind, but nothing came off for him and his passing was particularly poor. Brought off at half-time.

Sam Baldock: 4

A similarly ineffective performance from Baldock who was wide left in the first half and then more central after the break before being subbed. Cut a frustrated figure for much of his time on the pitch.

Lucas Joao: 9

Scored a perfect hat-trick that showed everything he’s good at. Joao’s first was a powerful header, his second was a composed finish and the third was a result of some excellent footwork to turn away from a pair of defenders. If he can stay fit, the striker will be crucial for Reading this season.

Subs

Andy Rinomhota: 6

By virtue of being a central midfielder replacing a forward, Rinomhota gave the team more balance when he came on at half-time and the team noticeably improved with him on the pitch.

Omar Richards: 5

Played out of position on the right hand side and couldn’t quite get into the game, except for a wayward shot from inside the box.

Nahum Melvin-Lambert: N/A

Took Reading’s total number of academy graduates to 60 when he came on in the last ten minutes. Gutted he didn’t score late on when slipped through by Olise.

Average: 5.92/10

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