BLUEBIRDS SEEN OFF BY CLINICAL BURNLEY
- ccfcinsider
- Mar 4
- 3 min read
Cardiff City were narrowly beaten by third place Burnley this evening.
The visitors took an early lead through Josh Brownhill. After some good build-up play the ball was with Hannibal Mejbri who slotted the ball across to Brownhill who made no mistake from close range.
City almost swiftly hit back through Yousef Salech. The forward's effort struck the post, Cardiff's best chance in the opening exchanges. Burnley would also have a big chance as Zian Flemming headed over unmarked in the penalty area.
The Clartes would however add a second through Maxime Esteve. Flemming headed a cross back across goal, and the defender was there to bundle the ball into an empty City net.
Cardiff got their goal soon after. After some good work from Callum O'Dowda, the ball fell to Joel Bagan who found Salech in the box, and the forward headed past James Trafford to half the deficit.
The Bluebirds had two big chances late on. Salech's header crashed against the crossbar, before Will Fish in the dying stages of the game fired over from close range.
City were forced to settle for nothing despite a decent showing in the Welsh Capital.
Player Ratings:
Ethan Horvath (6.5) - Made a few simple but key saves. Some impressive passes.
Andy Rinomhota (6) - Was consistently overloaded and therefore struggled. Battled as hard as he could.
Perry Ng (8) MOTM - Battled brilliantly and carried the ball very well, like the Ng of old. Came close with an audacious effort, as well.
Dimitrios Goutas (6) - Loses his man for both goals. Did make some key interventions and did well in the air.
Joel Bagan (7) - An excellent cross for the goal. Carried the ball well and was defensively solid. Has become that reliable player for City.
Calum Chambers (7) - Broke up play well again. Played some nice stuff but was guilty at times for holding onto the ball for too long.
Sivert Mannsverk (6.5) - Started well, carrying the ball and picking out passes. Took a big whack at the end of the first half, perhaps the reason to his quieter second half.
Cian Ashford (7) - Worked hard and looked to make things happen. Stepped up to the physical side as well. Did decent defensively.
Alex Robertson (6.5) - Linked midfield to attack fairly well with a couple of nice balls through. Worked hard off the ball.
Callum O’Dowda (8) - Worked his absolute socks off. O’Dowda’s tenacity makes the goal. The leader of an aggressive and successful Cardiff press. Very good.
Yousef Salech (8) - A header right from the top draw, and unlucky not to get one or two more. Won a great deal in the air, held up the ball well, and continues to look the real deal.
Subs:
Will Fish (6) - Fish had THE chance to equalise and fluffed his lines. Defensively was fairly good.
Rubin Colwill (6.5) - No doubt Colwill was trying to make things happen, just guilty of overplaying at times. Did work hard and made some good recovery challenges.
Aaron Ramsey (6.5) - Similar to Chambers on the ball. A safe cameo.
Anwar El Ghazi (6) - Made some tidy runs but saw very little of the action.
Callum Robinson (6.5) - Came on and looked like he had a point to prove. Excellent cross to find Salech. Robbo was good and direct. Came close to the spectacular.
Summary:
A game Cardiff deserved much more, it just wasn’t to be. City continue to perform like that every week and we’ll be safe.
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