Stoke City 4-0 Reading: Struggling Potters end three-match losing streak
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Will Smallbone put Stoke ahead with just his second goal of the season
Stoke City put in a dominant performance to thump Reading and end a three-match losing run in the Championship.
Will Smallbone's shot picked out the bottom corner after sloppy play from the Royals defence to give City an early lead.
Below-par Reading fell further behind after the break when Lewis Baker drove forward and teed up Tyrese Campbell whose deflected effort found the net.
Jacob Brown chested in Josh Tymon's cross, and moments later, Josh Laurent's strike deflected into the net off Dwight Gayle to complete the Potters' biggest win of the season.
Former Newcastle striker Gayle will have known little about his late contribution, but is unlikely to worry how it came, ending a personal goal drought which stretched back to December 2020.
It added gloss to a first win in five matches for Alex Neil's side who climb seven points clear of the relegation places in 18th, but Reading's 10th away defeat of the campaign leaves them five points adrift of the play-off spots in 14th.
Paul Ince's side have conceded the most away goals in the Championship this season, with 28 in 15 trips, and it did not take long for their defence to buckle once again, coughing up possession while playing out from the back and Smallbone took full advantage.
Brown almost doubled the lead before the half-hour, but defender Tom McIntyre made a vital block to deflect the shot over the bar.
The visitors rarely threatened aside from Yakou Meite's shot from a tight angle before the break which keeper Jack Bonham turned behind.
The game was as good as over when Campbell netted his fifth goal of the season, long before the two late goals wrapped up a morale-boosting fourth home win of the campaign.
Stoke City boss Alex Neil told BBC Radio Stoke:
"It's a nice feeling. It's a feeling that we haven't had as much as we'd have liked.
"There's been spells in games when we've done what we've done today but haven't put it together over 90 minutes, but we did today.
"Dwight (Gayle) brings so much to the team. I'm really hopeful that this is the start of a run for him to go on and get the sort of credit that he deserves in terms of what he puts into the team."
(On interest in Harry Souttar): "If we don't feel it benefits the club at that point in time, it won't happen.
"If we feel as if it allows us, maybe, to strengthen certain areas of the squad that potentially otherwise we can't, and also if it benefits Harry, then the discussions will happen behind the doors."
Reading manager Paul Ince told BBC Radio Berkshire:
"One thing's for sure about my teams is that my teams compete, and they didn't today. They let themselves down, they let the fans down, they let the club down.
"It's very rare I say that because you've seen how they fight every game, but if I could have taken 11 players off at half-time I would have done.
"Defensively we've conceded three goals from our own negligence, not doing the right thing and allowed the crowd to get up.
"I've said to the players 'forget about the play-offs, if you want to stay in the league you've got to start winning games away because things can quickly change'."