Reading ended resurgent Plymouth's three-match League One winning run with a 4-1 result at Home Park, skipper Lewis Wing scoring twice in five first-half minutes as the Royals rushed into a 3-0 lead.
The visitors were ruthless inside the opening 20 minutes and, despite a spirited response from the hosts after the break, completed the rout four minutes from time through Jack Marriott.
Ralls Sees Red as Reading Surge Clear
Wing opened the scoring from a 13th-minute penalty after Joe Ralls was red-carded for a foul on Reading defender Derrick Williams as Argyle failed to clear a corner. Five minutes later, Wing wrestled the ball off Bali Mumba on the edge of the box before hammering in past the diving Conor Hazard.