Fulham 1-2 Cardiff City (Agg 3-2)

Neeskens Kebano celebrates his all-important goal

Cardiff win the game but fail to overturn the two-goal deficit following the first leg, with Fulham progressing to the play-off final against Brentford.

Goals from Curtis Nelson and Lee Tomlin helped the Bluebirds to a 2-1 victory, with Neeskens Kebano scoring for Fulham.

Nelson had put Cardiff 1-0 up in the 8th minute with a header from a corner, only for Kebano to equalise just 24 seconds later. He got in front of Leandro Bacuna to fire in Bobby Decordova-Reid’s low cross.

It was a scrappy first half with Fulham having the better chances and Cardiff struggling to get a hold in the game. Alex Smithies, who was excellent on the night, kept City in the game through keeping out efforts from Fulham.

Neil Harris made a couple of changes at half time, bringing on Tomlin and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing for Marlon Pack and Junior Hoilett and it had an instant impact. From a Will Vaulks long throw, Mendez-Laing had a header saved before the ball fell to Tomlin who swerved to fire in to put City back in front on the night.

The Cardiff players celebrate Lee Tomlin’s goal

From then on it was a tense affair. The Bluebirds probably had the better of the action but couldn’t find the all-important goal to send the game to extra time. Fulham came very close to scoring and would’ve scored if not for Smithies, who twice denied substitute Aboubakar Kamara. The second one was a fantastic save as he somehow tipped Kamara’s effort on to the post.

Cardiff came close when Bacuna crossed the ball in towards Danny Ward, but Ward couldn’t get a touch on the ball. Mendez-Laing also came close when his effort curled away from goal.

Cardiff came so close to scoring, but couldn’t force the ball in during a goalmouth scramble. Goalkeeper Marek Rodak pushes out the initial effort before Fulham managed to clear the ball to Vaulks, whose well-timed volley was tipped over by Rodak.

The chance that Cardiff were waiting for fell to substitute Robert Glatzel, who fired over on the volley from fellow substitute Callum Paterson’s header. It was a tough chance but you could see the frustration within the Cardiff players, who felt that was their last chance.

The players dropped to their knees at full-time. They’d come so close and the players felt that. It had been a phenomenal effort to finish in the top six and then to come so close to overcoming Fulham and getting through to the play-off final.

Looking at the game, like Harris said, Fulham scored at key moments, in stoppage time at the end of the first leg and straight after Nelson’s goal in this game. If it wasn’t for Kebano’s goal in this game, who knows what would’ve happened. All City needed to do was keep it tight for the 10 minutes after the goal and go from then.

With the disappointment it would be easy to forget the incredible job that Harris has done since coming in. He was written off at the start by many fans, including myself, but he has proven the doubters wrong. Since his arrival Cardiff’s record has been up there as one of the best, which has coincided with the team climbing up the table. We were 14th when he arrived, but we finished in 5th.

Not only has he helped the team improve their league position, but also the style of play is improving. Under Harris the team has started to pass it around more which didn’t happen very often under former manager Neil Warnock. The passing has been very evident especially since the return. Hopefully they can push on next season and put up a strong challenge for promotion.

Harris will need to invest during the summer to improve the team further. I believe we need a few more players to help us challenge for promotion. Signing a right-back will be key and more depth behind talisman Lee Tomlin. When Tomlin isn’t playing they struggle for creativity. Overall I believe Cardiff fans can definitely be excited for next season.

As for the other semi-final, like I have said Brentford will be facing Fulham in the final after coming from behind to beat Swansea 3-2 on aggregate.

After losing the first leg 1-0 at the Liberty Stadium, Brentford completely turned the game around after 15 minutes through goals from Ollie Watkins and Emiliano Marcondes. Watkins’ goal was his 26th of the campaign. They added another just after half time through Bryan Mbeumo.

Rhian Brewster pulled a goal back for Swansea in the 78th minute but they were unable to find another to level the game. Therefore Brentford progressed to the final where it will be 3rd against 4th. I am sure it will be an excellent game between two very good teams.

As for Cardiff there is plenty to look forward next season.

Cardiff City 0-2 Fulham

Neeskens Kebano celebrates his stoppage-time free-kick

The Bluebirds face a massive challenge to find a way of progressing to the play-off fins after being outclassed by Fulham in the first leg of the semi-finals.

Second half goals from Josh Onomah and Neeskens Kebano gave Fulham the victory in a game which overall they dominated and Cardiff failed to really lay a glove on them.

It was a tightly contested first half in which City had started the better team. They looked strong up until the first drinks break but failed to capitalise. Robert Glatzel came very close to giving Cardiff the lead but following Leandro Bacuna’s effort, which was pushed out by Fulham goalkeeper Marek Rodak, Michael Hector did excellently to prevent Glatzel from tapping in. Glatzel also had an effort saved following some nice build-up play.

However, following the break Fulham started to get a hold of the game and dominate possession. Alex Smithies had to react quickly to save from Onomah’s effort at the back post. Tom Cairney also game close, firing against the post from range.

Fulham continued to dominate the ball in the second, with City hardly touching the ball. Fulham took the lead in the 49th minute through Onomah, who turned away from Marlon Pack with ease and then strolled past Sean Morrison and Curtis Nelson before finishing past Smithies. It was very poor defending, especially by Pack.

Cardiff struggled to threaten in attack and weren’t able to get the ball off their opponents who just passed the ball around them comfortably. There was a slight improvement following the substitutions in the 70th minute, with Josh Murphy, Will Vaulks and Danny Ward coming on for Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, Junior Hoilett and Glatzel but the players looked tired and struggled to find the energy which was required.

Former Bluebird Bobby Decordova-Reid came close for Fulham, firing just over the bar, before Kebano doubled the lead in stoppage time. The decision to award the free-kick was very debatable, with Cairney running into Morrison. The referee thought that Morrison had blocked Cairney intentionally therefore he gave the free-kick.

There was another time in the game where Lee Tomlin was similarly blocked but the referee didn’t award a foul. That was a clear example of the consistency which referee’s in the Football League lack. Manager Neil Harris was understandably very annoyed about that decision and felt that his side had been let down the the referee.

As for the free-kick, it was a brilliant strike by Kebano. He managed to get it over the wall with enough dip that it went into the corner, leaving Smithies with no chance. There was only a couple of minutes left when the goal was scored which makes it very frustrating for the Bluebirds and what Harris described as a ‘real kick in the nuts’.

It is going to be very tough to come back from this. It would’ve been challenging if it was one goal but two is going to take a huge effort. But, Cardiff have defied the odds to make the play-offs so no one can write them off yet. There is still hope, however slim that hope is.

Looking at the performance, it was very disappointing during the second half, with the energy levels lower than normal. That could be down to fatigue from all the games that they have played since the restart. Fulham deserved the victory and we will have to be much better in the second leg.

The second leg is on Thursday at Craven Cottage with kick-off at 19:45.

In the other semi-final, Swansea took on Brentford at the Liberty Stadium with Swansea surprisingly coming out on top. Andre Ayew scored the winner with a very good finish. He had earlier missed a penalty after a foul on Rhian Brewster.

The challenge which lead to Rico Henry being sent off

The goal came following a red card for Rico Henry which was never a sending off. He was sent off for a slide tackle on Connor Roberts where he won the ball. It was a strong challenge but his studs weren’t that high and he got enough of the ball for it not to even be a foul. However, since the game the red card has been overturned and he will be able to play in the second leg which takes place on Wednesday at Griffin Park. It is still in the balance and it is certainly not over yet.

One thing is certain and that is there will be plenty of excitement to come and there is a lot to look forward to.

Cardiff finish in the play-offs following a breathtaking final day of the Championship- Cardiff City 3-0 Hull City

Captain Sean Morrison heads in Cardiff’s second goal

A comfortable victory for the Bluebirds over Hull meant a fifth place finish in the league and the chance to get promoted to the Premier League through the play-offs.

Going into the final day, City needed a point to seal a place in the top six. Swansea were three points behind and Nottingham Forest were level on points. However, remarkably, the two teams from South Wales, Cardiff and Swansea, finished fifth and sixth respectively with Forest missing out on the play-offs.

As for the Cardiff game it was pretty comfortable throughout. First half goals from Junior Hoilett and Sean Morrison put the Bluebirds firmly in control, with Danny Ward coming off the bench to add a third.

Cardiff started the game strongly with Robert Glatzel having a couple of close effort. The first was a long-range strike which was saved by Hull goalkeeper George Long. The second was from a closer distance which he fired wide from an angle.

The first goal came in the 20th minute through Hoilett. He received the ball from a Joe Bennett header, before driving down the wing without being closed down and firing into the far corner. It was a very good finish.

Morrison doubled the lead in the 34th minute. It was very poor defending from Hull, leaving Morrison unmarked and he took advantage by heading high into the goal to double the lead.

There wasn’t much action during the second half with Cardiff managing the game well. Hull came close once but Morrison managed to block James Scott’s effort. It was brilliant defending from the skipper. Following that, Alex Smithies saved well from Mallik Wilks to preserve the clean sheet.

To round off the scoring, substitute Ward scored past Long after the keeper’s save from Bennett’s free-kick. The result was hardly in doubt throughout the whole game.

Hull struggled to find an intensity to threaten Cardiff, most probably because were realistically already relegated due to their inferior goal difference. That made it even more comfortable for the Bluebirds.

Following all the results, City will face fourth-placed Fulham, who finished the regular season with a 1-1 draw at Wigan. At the moment Wigan will be playing in League One alongside Hull next season unless they appeal successfully against their 12 point deduction for going into asministration. The other club to be relegated are Charlton who suffered a 4-0 loss at champions Leeds. It is harsh on Charlton who have had to try and overcome many obstacles this season, including plenty of injuries and losing their star man for the games after the break.

If the 12 point deduction to Wigan remains, Barnsley will be safe, having surprisingly won 2-1 at Brentford, who could’ve gone up automatically with a victory because of West Brom’s 2-2 draw at home to QPR. Barnsley finished one point above Charlton, while Brentford were two points adrift of West Brom and will face Swansea in the play-off semi-finals.

West Brom managed to hold on to second place to go up automatically, even though they didn’t manage to hit the ground running following the restart. Brentford has the opportunity to overtake them, but lost their last two games against Stoke and Barnsley and will have to settle for a place in the play-offs.

Before the match day it would’ve been sensible to predict that Nottingham Forest would’ve at least got something of their game at home to Stoke. But, what followed was extraordinary. Stoke had been fighting relegation for the majority of the season while on the other hand there was talk at one point of Forest challenging for automatic promotion.

But, in the end Stoke won 4-1 which coincided with Swansea’s 4-1 victory at Reading which meant that Forest fell out of the top six and Swansea replaced them. There needed to be a five goal swing for this to happen and that is what happened. It shows how competitive the Championship is, that anyone can beat anyone on their day and that nothing is guaranteed.

Going back to the bottom of the table and Luton Town, it has been an incredible effort for them to stay up. Nathan Jones returned to the club during the break and he has turned it around for them. Their final game was a 3-2 win over Blackburn at home. They have collected 16 points off their final 9 games to pull off what seemed impossible at one point.

Rounding up the other results by starting at St Andrews and Derby’s 3-1 victory over Birmingham. Birmingham finish two points above the relegation zone after a disappointing season while Derby finish in 10th. Star youngster Jude Bellingham played his final game for boyhood club Birmingham as he has completed a transfer to Borussia Dortmund. He was very emotional following the game.

Bristol City and Preston, who at one point were challenging for the top six, played out a 1-1 draw at Ashton Gate. Preston finish in 9th with Bristol City in 12th.

Millwall finished only two points off the play-offs following a 4-1 win over managerless Huddersfield, who have since appointed Leeds United assistant Carlos Corberan as their new head coach.

To finish it off, Middlesbrough secured their safety by beating Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 at Hillsborough.

It was a final day full of excitement, which was expected. The Championship is always full of action and this certainly proves that.

To finish the season there will be the play-offs. The first legs will be on the 26th and 27th of June and the second legs on the 29th and 30th of June. They are Swansea against Brentford and Cardiff against Fulham, with the possibility of a South Wales derby in the final. That would be nail-biting and probably too much to take for both sets of fans.

We will wait and see what happens in what should be a gripping play-offs.

Cardiff go a step closer to finishing in the top six with victory over Middlesbrough- Middlesbrough 1-3 Cardiff City

The Cardiff players celebrate the opening goal from Morrison

The Bluebirds now need just a point to clinch a spot in the play-offs following a comfortable victory over former manager Neil Warnock’s team Middlesbrough.

Swansea are the only team who can catch Cardiff as they are three points behind. Cardiff face Hull at the Cardiff City Stadium on Wednesday knowing that a draw will be enough to finish in the top six.

A goal from the skipper Sean Morrison and two goals from Josh Murphy gave City victory against Boro. Britt Assombalonga scored a consolation late on, but the contest had already been finished by then.

They got off to the perfect start in the fourth minute with Morrison heading in from Joe Ralls’ cross. That settled some nerves that might’ve been within the club. It was an excellent cross from Ralls and Morrison found space to be able to head in past Middlesbrough goalkeeper Aynsley Pears.

City came close with a couple of decent efforts during the first half, with Pears saving a long-range effort from Ralls and Junior Hoilett firing off target from an angle.

There was also a fast start to the second half like the first half, with Murphy scoring with a composed finish. It was a fantastic counter-attacking goal. Following a Middlesbrough free-kick, Cardiff cleated the ball as far as Lee Tomlin who played it through to Murphy who ran from inside his own half. He had a clear run at goal and had the composure to slot it in.

With about 10 minutes left of the game, Murphy scored another. It came from Mendez-Laing’s work out on the right. He used his pace and power to get past the defender before playing it across to Murphy who bundled it home. That sealed the victory.

Murphy celebrates his first goal with Robert Glatzel

Substitute Britt Assombalonga fired in a brilliant free-kick but it was too late to affect the result and Boro will go into the final day of the season knowing that they still aren’t safe. They are two points clear of Luton in 22nd and travel to Sheffield Wednesday on the final day of the season.

All the teams from Huddersfield in 18th and higher are safe, as Huddersfield have a far superior goal difference than Luton. Birmingham, Charlton, Luton, Hull and Barnsley face Derby, Leeds, Blackburn, Cardiff and Brentford respectively only the battle to avoid the drop.

Going back to Cardiff, it was a very impressive and solid performance in what could’ve been a very tough game. They dealt with any threat and didn’t look in danger at any point. Warnock couldn’t get one over on his former side and will have to ensure that his side don’t fail to stay in the league following the next game.

Warnock did a phenomenal job during his tenure at Cardiff and will always be remembered fondly by the fans. He took the club from a relegation fight to automatic promotion the following season. He failed to keep the club in the Premier League but with the money that he had, they put up an excellent effort to try and stay up. He left in November following an inconsistent start to the season, with Neil Harris taking over as the new manager.

Harris has managed to win over more fans following City’s improvement and is now in touching distance of the play-offs. If we do manage to make the play-offs then Harris will have done a fantastic job.

We will have to wait and see what happens on Wednesday. They can’t be complacent even though Hull have been on very poor form and aren’t mathematically relegated, but with they’re inferior goal difference it is pretty much certain that they will be in League One next season.

It is going down to the final day of the season on Wednesday with all the games kicking off at 7:30pm. Swansea’s final game is a trip to Reading. There is still much to play for.

Massive win for the Bluebirds over Derby- Cardiff City 2-1 Derby County

Cardiff’s Lee Tomlin celebrates his winner through showing support for ‘Black Lives Matter’

Lee Tomlin’s second-half goal gave Cardiff victory over Derby to end the run of consecutive defeats and to boost their play-off hopes.

It was a tough game against a strong Derby side and City went through periods with very little possession of the ball. However, it was Cardiff who took the lead through Junior Hoilett.

It came from Jason Knight’s very poor back-pass which was too short for the goalkeeper and allowed Hoilett to pounce, before rounding the keeper and slotting in to put City in front. Cardiff had been the better team from the start and deserved to be in front.

But, Derby gained control of the game soon after the goal and started to dictate the play. They managed to equalise in the 30th minute through Knight, who made amends for his shocking mistake for the opening goal.

It was very poor defending from Cardiff. Both Sean Morrison and Joe Bennett went to tackle Louie Sibley which left Knight free and Sibley was able to play the ball through for Knight to score.

From then on, Derby dominated possession and City struggled to have a touch of the ball. It was a tough watch for a period of the game. Whenever Cardiff got the ball they just gave it straight back to a Derby player. Derby weren’t really threatening but whenever they got near the box, the defenders hesitated to make a challenge.

Cardiff managed to get though to half-tome without conceding and managed to wrestle some sort of control back by the end of the half. Hoilett had a good effort saved as the Bluebirds ended the half strongly.

City were solid during the second half and managed to control the game. There weren’t many clear chances for either side until Tomlin fires in the winner. It came following a mistake from a Wayne Rooney. Tomlin tackled Rooney, who was too relaxed on the ball, and ran with the ball before finishing well into the bottom corner. It was a very good finish.

They had the chance to seal the win but Joe Ralls headed against the bar from substitute Danny Ward’s cross. It was a great chance to make sure of the victory but Ralls failed to take advantage. However, City held on for the win.

The defeat for Derby all but ends their play-off hopes as they are six points off Cardiff with an inferior goal difference. There would have to be a dramatic turnaround for them to make the top six.

On the other hand, the win for Cardiff strengthens their place in the top six. Following all the results from the midweek games there is a two-point cushion to Millwall in seventh. Millwall are still firmly in contention after overcoming Blackburn 1-0 through Mason Bennett’s goal. This result meant that Blackburn cannot mathematically finish in the top six.

It looks like it is a three-horse race between Cardiff, Millwall and Swansea. Swansea drew 2-2 at Nottingham Forest. They were twice pegged back by Sammy Ameobi after Rhian Brewster and then Andre Ayew had put them in the lead. They are now three points off the Bluebirds. Preston have dropped to five points behind City after losing 1-0 to automatic promotion hopefuls Brentford with Ollie Watkins scoring his 25th goal of the campaign.

Bristol City were frustrated by Stoke City with Danny Batth’s second half goal cancelling out Filip Benkovic’s opener to bring the Potters very close to safety.

It is still very tight in the race for the final place in the play-offs. The last two games for Cardiff will be tough against two teams are fighting against relegation. The first of those is a trip to Middlesbrough on Saturday. Boro are very close to being safe as they are five points clear of the relegation zone. Neil Warnock has had a good impact since becoming their manager and he will certainly provide a stern test for his former club. We will have to be at our best to get a positive result.

The following Wednesday the Bluebirds will take on Hull at the Cardiff City Stadium on the final day of the season. If City win both of those games they will end up in the top six. It is in their hands but they will need to be at their best.

As I have said before it will be an exciting end to the season as it always is in the Championship.

It will also be exciting in the race for automatic promotion. Following yesterday’s results, Brentford are only a point behind West Brom. Brentford beat Preston while West Brom drew 0-0 at home to fourth-placed Fulham who can still mathematically catch West Brom. The other team who occupy a place in the top six are Nottingham Forest.

We have a lot to look forward to in the next week and there is definitely a lot to play for.

Cardiff fall to back-to back losses with defeat at Fulham- Fulham 2-0 Cardiff City

Fulham’s Alexander Mitrovic celebrates scoring the penalty which opened the scoring

For the second time this week Cardiff lost in the Championship, denting their play-off hopes in the process, with the race for the top six tightening up.

After a disappointing defeat against Blackburn on Tuesday, the Bluebirds would’ve been hoping to bounce back at Craven Cottage and bring back the momentum they had straight after the return.

However, a first-half penalty from Alexander Mitrovic and second-half strike from Josh Onomah won the game for Fulham and kept their faint hopes of automatic promotion alive.

There were a few contentious decisions during the game. The decision to award a penalty against Dion Sanderson for fouling Mitrovic was debatable and amany would argue that it was soft. But, Cardiff were hugely fortunate when the ball clearly struck Curtis Nelson’s hand in the box and it should’ve been a penalty for Fulham.

There was also a couple of moments where the referee could’ve given red cards to Fulham players. Michael Hector appeared to strike Callum Paterson in the face, but he was only given a yellow card for the offence. There was also a foul on Nathaniel Mendez-Laing which could’ve been seen as a red card. Overall the referee had a poor game.

Even though many would disagree with the referee’s decisions, Fulham did deserve the victory on the whole. Cardiff did come close through Joe Ralls in the first half who’s excellent volley hit the cross bar. But, City struggled to be threatening enough to create enough chances and break through.

Fulham created more chances and sealed the win when Onomah finished well into the bottom corner in the 66th minute. They’d come close a few times before that and even though there was still time left, it didn’t look like City were going to be able to find that finishing touch.

We will need to make sure that we return to our best when Derby come to the Cardiff City Stadium on Tuesday. That will be a massive game and is must-win. It will be difficult to find momentum without a victory in that game.

We were lucky to remain in the top six after the weekend’s results. Going into the matchday Swansea were only a point behind with Preston and Derby three points behind.

But, former Swansea player Pablo Hernandez scored an 89th minute winner against his former club to win the game for Leeds and dent his former club’s play-off hopes, while putting Leeds a step closer to returning to the top flight. They now only need four more points to seal promotion.

Derby faced Brentford, who still have hopes of automatic promotion. Saïd Benrahma inspired the Bees to a 3-1 victory at Pride Park, scoring two goals, including a wonderful second. After West Brom’s 1-1 draw at Blackburn, Brentford are only three points off the Baggies in second with a superior goal difference.

Preston, who were only three points off the Bluebirds going into the weekend, hosted Nottingham Forest, who occupy a place in the top six. They drew 1-1, with Jayden Stockley cancelling out an early Lewis Grabban penalty. After that result, Preston cut the gap to two points to sixth. Forest remain in fifth, six points clear of seventh.

Millwall have climbed above Derby into ninth after beating Hull City at the KCOM Stadium through Ryan Leonard’s second minute strike. They are on the same points as Preston, two points off Cardiff.

After looking out of play-off contention following defeat to Cardiff a couple of games ago, Bristol City have turned their form around with back-to-back wins and are now only three points off Cardiff in sixth, albeit with an inferior goal difference.

Blackburn have also given themselves a chance, cutting the gap to four points after beating the Bluebirds and drawing against automatic promotion chasing West Brom.

It is certainly going to be an exciting finish to see who finishes in the tops six and gives themselves a chance to get promoted to the Premier League. Forest look likely to finish in the play-offs, so it is realistically seven teams fighting for sixth. There is four points between those seven teams.

The Championship is a crazy league and always has its thrills and spills. It will be intriguing to see who can deal with the pressure in the final three games. There are game between those around the play-off places which makes it even more exciting.

One of those games between teams in the play-off hunt is the game mentioned earlier between Cardiff and Derby on Tuesday. Hopefully Lee Tomlin and Robert Glatzel will be fit enough to start the Bluebirds to provide the much-needed fire power in attack.

It will be a tough game against Derby who have a good blend of youth and experience, lead by veteran Wayne Rooney who has made a big impact since joining in January as a player-coach.

We will look forward to that game on Tuesday and hope for a positive result.

Sloppy mistakes cost Cardiff against Blackburn in a 3-2 loss- Cardiff City 2-3 Blackburn

The Blackburn players celebrate Adam Armstrong’s stunning winner

The Bluebirds’ unbeaten run since the return was ended against a Blackburn side who still have slim hopes of making the play-offs.

It was a tough game for Cardiff against a team who overall have had a good season even though they had lost their last three games. Many would’ve predicted that City would comfortably win, especially as they haven’t lost since the return. However, Blackburn had other ideas.

It is a reality check for the Bluebirds who were looking increasingly likely to finish in the top six. Hopefully this will take any complacency out of the team and we can push towards the play-offs.

The first half went well for Cardiff and some decent football was played. Will Vaulks put City in front in the 14th minute with a fantastic finish from the edge of the area. He ran onto Joe Ralls’ pass before chipping over Blackburn goalkeeper Christian Walton’s head. It is a goal which supporters would definitely have enjoyed if they were present.

But the lead didn’t last long with a lack of concentration from a corner leading to an equaliser. Dion Sanderson didn’t stay tight to Darragh Lenihan who headed against the post, before the ball rebounded off the post to bounce off goalkeeper Alex Smithies to Danny Graham who tapped the ball in on the line. It was a scrappy equaliser and it was definitely avoidable.

After coming close a couple of times, Robert Glatzel our Cardiff back in front. It was a well-worked goal, with Ralls playing the ball out to the returning Josh Murphy who found Joe Bennett on the overlap. Bennett crossed the ball in for Glatzel who had a simple finish from point-blank range.

City went in at half-time in front after a solid half, but it was clear that they would have to work hard to come away with the three points. Even though Cardiff played well, Blackburn matched them for the majority of the half.

Into the second half and many would’ve expected the players to learn from the first goal conceded and wouldn’t switch off at the back again. However, a minute after the restart, Dominic Samuel drew Rovers level. They had a shout for a penalty just before the goal after a challenge by Curtis Nelson. Moments later a cross came into the box and Samuel beat Bennett to the ball to fire past Smithies. It was another poor goal for Cardiff to concede.

Blackburn were the better side during the half and they went ahead in the 70th minute after another mistake from the Bluebirds. Leandro Bacuna played a poor pass to Armstrong who brilliantly fired first-time over Smithies from about 40 yards out. It was an excellent strike but it came from Bacuna’s mistake.

From then on Cardiff struggled to create any clear chances in what looked like a completely different team to the team we saw in the first half. Murphy and Ralls has decent efforts from outside the box but they weren’t threatening enough.

It is a very disappointing results for City but there were still a few positives to come out of the game. However, the only thing that matters at the moment is results and the team needs to make sure that they come on the right side of the results.

We’ve been hard to beat and break down since manager Neil Harris came in and this was only the fourth loss in the Championship under Harris. However, this was not what we’d got used to seeing. All three goals were poor goals to concede.

We need to get back to playing the way that was evident in the previous games. The run-in isn’t easy at all with games against play-off hopefuls Fulham and Derby. They will realistically need at least four points from those games to consolidate our place in the top six. However they will be very tough games and the Bluebirds will need to be at their best to get results.

After losing 2-0 to West Brom, Derby remain three points behind City. The game between the two sides is going to be huge. Fulham have been looking strong recently and beat fellow play-off challengers Nottingham Forest 1-0 on Tuesday.

After those two games, City travel to Middlesbrough and then host Hull on the final day of the Championship season. They will face former manager Neil Warnock when they face Boro. Warnock’s had a positive impact since joining, winning two out of four games to help Boro in their battle to stay in the league. One of the losses was against Hull, although Hull currently occupy 22nd place and need results to stay up.

They will both be tough games, with both teams still fighting for something. Overall, all four games are against teams who have something to fight for. That will make it tougher but I’m sure that the team will be confident that they can pull it off.

The Bluebirds will next be in action on Friday at Craven Cottage against Fulham, starting at 8:15pm. It is looking like a massive game for City.

Liverpool become Premier League champions

Christian Pulisic celebrates the opening goal for Chelsea

After the latest round of fixtures, Liverpool are now officially the champions of England.

It came following Man City’s 2-1 loss to Chelsea. Liverpool had beaten Crystal Palace 4-0 the day before, but City couldn’t do the same, with Chelsea overcoming them. They needed to win but they failed.

City dominated the ball but defensive mistakes cost them. The first goal was a shambles as Benjamin Mendy and Ìlkay Gündogan had a mix up before Christian Pulisic easily got past Mendy. He then finished well past Ederson.

Kevin de Bruyne scored a fantastic free-kick to level the game. However, following more defensive frailties, Fernandinho ended up blocking the ball with his hand. With the help of VAR, the referee awarded a penalty and sent off the Brazilian. Willian converged the penalty. From then on, City couldn’t break Chelsea down and therefore, have lost their title.

Liverpool had no problems against Crystal Palace, with goals from Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah, Fabinho and Stadio Mane helping the Reds to a comfortable win.

Nothing but a win would’ve been enough for City and many would’ve predicted that they would’ve kept their slim chances of retaining the title alive, but Chelsea had other ideas.

The whole Liverpool squad gathered together to watch the Chelsea v Man City game just in case they could celebrate the title and, following the game there were joyous scenes. They had won their first title since 1990.

In regards to the rest of the division, there were victories for Man Utd, Wolves and Tottenham to keep the pressure up in the race for the top four. Everton, Arsenal and Burnley also won, while the games between Leicester and Brighton and Newcastle and Aston Villa finished level.

Anthony Martial scored the first Manchester United hat-trick since Robin Van Persie scored three in Sir Alex Ferguson’s final season in charge back in 2013. It was the last time United won the title. It was a solid performance from United against Sheffield United and Martial’s goals were clinical. There was excellent link-up play between the attacking players. Paul Pogba showed glimpses of quality on his first start after injury and Bruno Fernandes shone again.

Tottenham’s 2-0 victory over Aston Villa ended a run of seven games in all competitions without a win. An own goal from Tomas Soucek and a first goal since December for Harry Kane have Spurs the win. Kane would’ve missed the rest of the season if it wasn’t for the break, so that is a massive difference for Spurs.

With another goal from Raul Jimenez from another assist by Adama Traore, Wolves remained level on points with Man United and keep up their hopes of playing Champions League football next season.

Arsenal, Everton and Burnley kept up their slim hopes of qualifying for Europe next season with victories over Southampton, Norwich and Watford respectively.

Arsenal had to battle but goals from Eddie Nketiah and Joe Willock gave the Gunners a 2-0 victory over Southampton. It was the Gunners’ first win since their return. Southampton should be safe from any relegation fears as they are ten points above the bottom three.

Michael Keane scored the winner for Everton in a narrow 1-0 victory over bottom club Norwich. It is now looking like only a miracle will prevent the Canaries from dropping straight back down to the Championship.

In the game between Burnley and Watford, Jay Rodriguez played a starring role, scoring the winner with a header to keep Watford looking just over their shoulder. They are only one point above the relegation zone.

Aston Villa still remain in the fight to stay up after Ahmed El Mohamady equalised late on following Dwight Gayle’s goal for Newcastle.

The final game we look at is between Leicester and Brighton which finished goalless. Brighton had an excellent chance to score but Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel pulled off a fantastic save to deny Neal Maupay from the penalty spot. Leicester need to get back up to speed otherwise they will be in danger of getting caught by the chasing pack for the Champions League places. Brighton are lookin strong to remain in the top flight but will still need to carry on picking up points.

It was another key set of matches which will have a big impact on the final standings.

The results follow:

Leicester 0-0 Brighton

Tottenham 2-0 West Ham

Manchester United 3-0 Sheffield United

Newcastle 1-1 Aston Villa

Norwich 0-1 Everton

Wolves 1-0 Bournemouth

Liverpool 4-0 Crystal Palace

Southampton 0-2 Arsenal

Chelsea 2-1 Man City

The first full Premier League matchday after the break

Last weekend we were able to witness all Premier League teams return to action and there was some excitement and controversy to watch.

It was great to see a full matchday with all 20 teams involved. It was the first time for over three months. As usual, there were games which had a lot more action than others. We will have to be patient before we see it back in full flow and at a high intensity on a consistent basis.

The main focus going into the weekend was the Merseyside Derby on Sunday. However, the game failed to live up to the expectation and ended up being a 0-0 draw without much action.

Liverpool weren’t able to win the title with a win but they will want to get it over and done with as soon as they can. They need five points to seal it. With Man City overcoming Burnley on Monday, Liverpool will only be able to win the title this week if City fail to beat Chelsea on Thursday.

After 30 years of waiting, it will be a relief for all Liverpool fans to finally win the title. They still have plenty of time to do so.

For now Man City are making them to have to wait and they were once again relentless against Burnley, winning 5-0. So far since returning, they have scored eight without conceding any.

Phil Foden was the star of the show in the game, scoring two goals in a man of the match performance. He was influential throughout and he will only get better. He has had to be patient since breaking into the first-team squad at City, but with more of these performances he will certainly get more chances. With David Silva looking like he is going to leave City in the summer, Foden might get his chance on a consistent basis.

Riyad Mahrez with two goals and David Silva were the other goal scorers. Burnley were fairly poor, but nothing can be taken away from City’s performance.

Tottenham against Man Utd had quite a bit of controversy, with VAR overturning a decision. Spurs went into half time 1-0 ahead. Steven Bergwijn managed to break through the middle of United’s defence before firing in. David de Gea definitely should’ve saved the shot and Harry Maguire shouldn’t have let Bergwijn run through so easily.

United were better in the second half and on his return, substitute Paul Pogba won them a penalty after being fouled by Eric Dier. Bruno Fernandes stepped up to dispatch the penalty. United were awarded another penalty in the 90th minute after referee Jon Moss adjudged Eric Dier to have fouled Fernandes. However, after VAR had a look at it the decision was overturned. The game finished level which was probably a fair result.

There were some exciting finishes in the games between Watford and Leicester and between Brighton and Arsenal. In the Watford v Leicester game there wasn’t much action until the 90th minute when Leicester’s Ben Chilwell fired into the top corner from the edge of the box. It was a fantastic strike. Leicester thought they had won the game, however, three minutes later following a set-piece Watford’s Craig Dawson acrobatically fired in. It was a frantic end to the finish.

In the game between Brighton and Arsenal there was plenty of action, starting with Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno’s injury. Leno caught the ball before Brighton’s Neal Maupay went into him, causing him to fall out of the box and get injured. It appeared to be quite severe. Leno wasn’t happy at all with Maupay, feeling that he could’ve avoided it. Emiliano Martínez replaced Leno.

In the second half, Nicolas Pepe provide a spark for Arsenal, cutting in on his left foot, before curling into the top corner from distance. It was a wonderful strike. But, Arsenal failed to manage the game from then on in, conceding an equaliser seven minutes later. They failed to deal with a short corner and Lewis Dunk ended up bundling the ball over the line for Brighton.

Then, in stoppage time at the end of the game, Brighton’s Aaron Connolly played the ball through for Maupay, who finished past Martínez to win the game for Brighton. At the final whistle it got heated, with Maupay celebrating passionately towards Matteo Guendouzi who shoved Maupay by gripping his neck and then more players got involved. Following the game, Maupay said in an interview that they needed to learn “humility”. He certainly had the last laugh.

Rounding up the other results, Norwich ended up losing comfortably 3-0 to Southampton. The Canaries are rooted to the bottom of the table. Southampton on the other hand, are ten points clear of the relegation zone.

Bournemouth remain in trouble after losing to Crystal Palace 2-0 at home in the first ever live Premier League gams on the BBC. They are severely struggling at the moment. The goals came from a brilliant Luka Milivojevic free-kick and Jordan Ayew.

West Ham are also in trouble after losing on their return 2-0 at home to Wolves. Adama Traore made a massive difference after coming on, assisting Raúl Jiménez with a great cross. Pedro Neto volleyed in the other goal. Wolves are fighting for Europe, having had another great season so far. They are right in the mix.

Aston Villa are also struggling, especially having given away a lead against Chelsea. They were 1-0 up at half time following a goal from Kourtney Hause. Chelsea dominated the game throughout but for a while they failed to take advantage of that.

They did manage to break through in the second half, with substitute Christian Pulisic scoring five minutes after coming on. It came as he fired in from a Cesar Azpilicueta cross from the right. Then, a couple of minutes later Olivier Giroud completes the turnaround for Chelsea. There was some slick passing from Chelsea before the ball fell to the Frenchman who fired past Villa goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland via a deflection. Villa were very unlucky. They remain in the bottom three, while Chelsea are fourth.

The other game of the weekend was Newcastle’s 3-0 victory over Sheffield United. It was a tight encounter during the first half but, the game turned in the second half after Sheffield United’s John Egan was sent off for two yellow cards. The first was very debatable, having got in a tussle with Joelinton. Realistically it wasn’t a yellow card, but the second certainly was after he pulled down Joelinton who was going to be running in on goal.

Following that, the Blades capitulated. Five minutes after the red card, Enda Stevens failed to stop a Matt Ritchie cross and Allan Saint-Maximin scores past Dean Henderson. Ritchie fired in a second and Joelinton rounded off the scoring, ending his 10 month goal drought. That could be a big goal for him. Newcastle boss Steve Bruce will be delighted with this result, but Blades boss Chris Wilder will have a lot to ponder.

Below are all the results from the weekend:

Norwich 0-3 Southampton

Tottenham 1-1 Manchester United

Watford 1-1 Leicester

Brighton 2-1 Arsenal

West Ham 0-2 Wolves

Bournemouth 0-2 Crystal Palace

Newcastle 3-0 Sheffield United

Aston Villa 1-2 Chelsea

Everton 0-0 Liverpool

Manchester City 5-0 Burnley

The next set of games are midweek with all 20 teams in action

The Return of the Premier League, but not quite the same

Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was one of those who took a knee

It will bring a buzz back to people who haven’t seen Premier League football for 100 days and there were things that would’ve given many people joy but others that were unusual and new that will take time adjusting to.

We all love watching live football and have desperately missed the Premier League. The games at Villa Park and Etihad Stadium would’ve in some way filled the gap that had been in many people’s lives since Leicester’s 4-0 win over Aston Villa on March 9.

There was controversy, with the massive mistake by Hawkeye which denied Sheffield United the opening goal, and there was the class, with Kevin de Bruyne returning at his consistent best. These are aspects which many people have missed.

At kick-off in both games there was a massive statement made by players and officials. They all took a knee for 10 seconds in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. Millions of people would’ve been watching the games and this could have a massive impact with the Premier League showing their support.

All players had the words ‘Black Lives Matter’ on the back of their shirts instead of their names and that will be the same in this weekend’s games. We will all be hoping that this has a big influence.

We have to put football into context at this time and although we love football, there are far more important things and like Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp said, football is “the most important of the least important things”. As well as taking a knee, there was a minute’s silence for those who have lost their lives to coronavirus.

Possibly the biggest difference with football for now is the lack of fans and that certainly influenced the game and will be very noticeable in all the games to come. Supporters are a massive part of the game, creating a special atmosphere in many games.

However, for now we will have to deal with the noise of the players instead. It could be a while until fans are allowed to return to stadiums with the safety of everyone not able to be ensured. I don’t believe we will get used to it and it won’t be the same.

In regards to the football, there was glimpses of quality and I believe that the more games are played, the better the quality will be as the players increases their match sharpness. Managers will be hoping that their players can hit the ground running.

Below are the results and summary of both games that were played:

Aston Villa 0-0 Sheffield United

The pictures showed that the ball crossed the line

The main talking point of this game was the goal that Hawkeye managed to miss. From an inswinging free-kick by Sheffield United’s Oliver Norwood, Villa Goalkeeper Orjan Nyland appeared to carry the ball behind the goalline. However, referee Michael Oliver pointed to his watch which showed no signal that the ball had crossed the line.

But, the replays showed that the ball had gone in so a goal should’ve been awarded. Hawkeye apologised following the game but that won’t feel like enough for Blades manager Chris Wilder who will feel aggrieved that is side haven’t come away with the three points. It was serious injustice.

Aside from that blunder, this was a tight encounter between two sides with very different aspirations for the rest of the season. Villa are hoping to climb out and away from the bottom three, while Sheffield United are chasing a place in Europe for next season after a fantastic season so far in their first season back in the top flight.

Villa will probably feel like they could’ve won this game but were thwarted by some fine saves by some fine saves from Blades goalkeeper Dean Henderson. Conor Hourihane, Keinan Davis and John McGinn all had efforts on goal that were saved by Henderson. This performance will further increase Henderson’s reputation as a goalkeeper.

Next up for Villa is at home to Chelsea on Sunday, with Sheffield United travelling to Newcastle on the same day.

Man City 3-0 Arsenal City comfortably overcame Arsenal on Mikel Arteta’s return to the Etihad after leaving his coaching role with City to take over as head coach of Arsenal.

The first half was far from ideal for the Gunnera, with injuries for Granit Xhaka and Pablo Mari. David Luiz replaced Mari and he certainly will want to forget this game. With his Arsenal future uncertain, this performance will not encourage the Gunners to try and keep him at the club. During stoppage time at the end of the first half, he failed to stop an attempted Kevin de Bruyne pass, inadvertently deflecting the ball through to Raheem Sterling, who finished past Bernd Leno. This was Sterling’s first goal in 2020 for Man City.

The second half didn’t get much better for Luiz. About five minutes into the half Luiz pulled back City’s Riyad Mahrez, conceding a penalty and he was sent off as he was the last man. De Bruyne scored the penalty. De Bruyne showed his quality throughout the game and was a joy to watch.

Substitute Phil Foden finished off the scoring in stoppage time, stroking in the rebound after Agüero’s shot was saved onto the post by Leno following a slick passing move. It was only because of Leno that City didn’t score more.

Next up for City is against Burnley at home on Monday, while Arsenal travel to Brighton on Saturday.

Football is certainly back and we will be hoping that we see some exciting moments in the weeks to come.