90’+4’Second Half ends, Sheffield United 4, Cardiff City 1.90’+2’Attempt blocked. Connor Wickham (Cardiff City) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Joe Ralls.90’+1’Attempt blocked. Robert Glatzel (Cardiff City) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Joe Ralls.90’+1’Corner, Cardiff City. Conceded by Jack Robinson.90’Attempt saved. Robert Glatzel (Cardiff City) header from the centre of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Joe Ralls with a cross.89’Attempt blocked. Robert Glatzel (Cardiff City) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Joe Ralls.
Sheffield United’s hopes of automatic promotion to the Premier League were given a major boost with a 4-1 victory over relegation-threatened Cardiff City. The Bluebirds had taken the lead when Sory Kaba converted from the penalty spot, but James McAtee equalised with a solo effort shortly after. Jack Robinson then put the Blades ahead with a diving header in the second half, before Iliman Ndiaye and Ciaran Clark added further goals to seal a resounding win.
The defeat keeps Cardiff just one point above the bottom three, while United now sit eight points clear of third-placed Middlesbrough with the day’s later games still to come. The hosts started strongly and piled pressure on Cardiff’s defence in the opening 10 minutes, but it was the visitors who had the better spell of play, winning a flurry of corners. Ryan Wintle’s long-range strike was saved well by Adam Davies, who started in place of the suspended Wes Foderingham.
Max Lowe then conceded a penalty when his boot was high as he attempted to clear another corner ahead of Cardiff defender Jack Simpson, and referee David Webb pointed to the spot. Kaba stepped up and stroked the ball down the middle of Davies’ goal to give Cardiff the lead. But five minutes later, McAtee levelled for United. The Manchester City loanee dropped a shoulder to dupe defender Mark McGuinness, dancing his way into the 18-yard box before passing the ball beyond Ryan Allsop and into the net.
Cardiff could have been ahead at the break as captain Joe Ralls went through on goal after a defensive mix-up, but Davies made himself big to keep the scores level. In the second half, former Cardiff loanee Tommy Doyle’s dangerous cross was met by Robinson’s diving header to put United ahead. Substitute Connor Wickham then rattled the crossbar with a close-range strike on 73 minutes as Cardiff chased an equaliser, but Ndiaye pounced on a weak back-pass by McGuinness to skip around Allsop and tuck in his 14th goal of the season. Clark then sealed the points with a tap-in after Cardiff failed to clear a corner.
The result leaves Cardiff with just one win in their last six league games, and unable to win successive games on the road for the first time since April 2022. They have now lost on consecutive league visits to Bramall Lane for the first time since 2004 and sit precariously above the relegation zone.