Championship: Burnley thrash Cardiff
Burnley 5 - 0 Cardiff City
Burnley maintained their perfect start to the Championship season with a commanding 5-0 victory over Cardiff City, capitalising on a series of errors by the Bluebirds.
The match got off to a disastrous start for Cardiff when a routine backpass slipped under goalkeeper Ethan Horvath’s foot, resulting in an own goal that gifted Burnley the lead after just nine minutes. Things went from bad to worse as Dimitrios Goutas's poor defending allowed Jay Rodriguez the space to cross, leading to Luca Koleosho smashing in a second goal.
Cardiff’s hopes of a second-half comeback were quickly dashed when a precise pass from Vitinho split their defence wide open, allowing Josh Brownhill to race through and score.
EFL: 2024/2025 (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com)
Championship: Wednesday thrash Plymouth (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com)
Cardiff City latest news and stories
Burnley didn’t let up, adding two spectacular late goals as Zeki Amdouni and Johann Berg Gudmundsson both struck with powerful finishes.
This resounding victory was the perfect start for Scott Parker in his first home game as Burnley manager, following their 4-1 win against Luton at Kenilworth Road.
Parker had to make do without first-choice goalkeeper James Trafford, who was absent due to illness, while Rodriguez stepped in to replace Wilson Odobert after his unexpected £25m move to Tottenham Hotspur.
Cardiff, managed by Erol Bulut, made two changes from their 2-0 defeat to Sunderland, but their plans unravelled as they handed the advantage to Burnley in truly calamitous fashion.
A closer look at the match
Burnley, also impressive in their demolition of Luton, barely had to break a sweat before Cardiff handed them a 1-0 lead. Goutas’s backpass to Horvath looked harmless, but the goalkeeper misjudged it entirely, allowing the ball to roll into the net as he stumbled.
Cardiff nearly equalised five minutes later when Joe Ralls played Yakou Meite through on goal, but Meite could only hit the post. That was as close as they came.
Another defensive error saw Goutas miss a challenge on Rodriguez, whose cross then found Koleosho, who finished with authority to make it 2-0.
Cardiff’s miserable record against Burnley continued with this defeat, extending their winless streak at Turf Moor to 17 games since December 1990. Their last victory there was in 1988.
Any hopes Cardiff had of a revival were snuffed out when Brownhill scored his third goal in as many Championship matches after Callum O’Dowda lost possession.
Burnley were comfortable at 3-0, having fully exploited Cardiff’s sloppy play, before Amdouni hammered in a fourth off the underside of the crossbar.
Cardiff’s woes deepened in stoppage time when Berg Gudmundsson added a fifth with a stunning strike after cutting inside.
Burnley’s five goals came from just four shots on target, while Cardiff’s dismal start to the season continued, leaving them bottom of the Championship as they head into the South Wales derby. To add to their misery, Cardiff also suffered injuries to Wales captain Aaron Ramsey and their own skipper, Joe Ralls, in the first half.
