3 – 0
Did it deliver?
The match gave a lively first 15 minutes but then turned into a game of Wolves defending and counter-punching, so it only partly lived up to its billing. The 3-0 scoreline looks more comfortable than the shot counts suggest, which gave it some intrigue, but the second half had little drama.
Wolves won 3-0 despite having just 39% of possession, 303 passes to Cardiff's 495, and an identical 13 shots. They scored twice in the first 15 minutes, first through Fernando López González's header from a Hugo Bueno López delivery after a corner, then through Adam Armstrong, set up by Rafiki Said. After that they sat deep, took the counter-attacking chances and relied on goalkeeping to protect the lead, making nine saves to Cardiff's one. Cardiff had far more of the ball, 45 dangerous attacks to 28 and nine shots on target, but could not turn that control into a goal. Ladislav Krejci's strike on 58 minutes, created by Kieran Trippier, ended any hope of a comeback. Wolves committed 20 fouls to Cardiff's 8 and had four bookings in total, showing how much they had to scramble. The win gives them a big boost in the Championship, while Cardiff are left wondering how they lost after so much of the play.
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Cardiff City
Wolverhampton Wanderers•GoalkeeperCorner awarded.
Charlie Holt is substituted for Ollie Tanner.
Corner awarded.
Offside.
Yousef Salech takes a header shot but misses.
Cian Ashford takes a left-footed shot, but it is saved.
Joel Colwill takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Yousef Salech's header is saved.
Substitution: Thomas Glyn Doyle comes on for Andre Trindade da Costa Neto.
Tawanda Chirewa replaces Adam Armstrong.
Rodrigo Martins Gomes takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Offside.
Rodrigo Martins Gomes takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Ronan Kpakio comes on for Will Fish.
David Turnbull comes on for Alex Robertson.
Jean-Ricner Bellegarde takes a left-footed shot but misses.
Mateus Mane is on, and Rafiki Said is off.
Rodrigo Martins Gomes replaces Fernando López González.
Offside.
Adam Armstrong takes a left-footed shot but misses.
Alex Robertson's right-footed shot is saved.
Perry Ng takes a right-footed shot, but it is blocked.
Jean-Ricner BellegardeYellow CardYellow card shown to Jean-Ricner Bellegarde.
Cian Ashford is on, and Calum Scanlon is off.
Rubin Colwill comes on for Chris Willock.
Corner awarded.
Corner awarded.
Ladislav KrejciLadislav Krejci takes a shot with his head and scores a goal.
assist: Kieran Trippier
Goal! Ladislav Krejci scores to make it 3-0, assisted by Kieran Trippier.
Joel BaganYellow CardJoel Bagan receives a yellow card.
Rafiki Said takes a right-footed shot, but it is blocked.
Fernando López González takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Joel Colwill takes a right-footed shot, but it's saved.
Fernando López GonzálezYellow CardYellow card issued to Fernando López González.
Corner awarded.
Joel Colwill takes a right-footed shot, but it's saved.
Joel Colwill takes a shot with his head, but it is blocked.
The first half ends with a score of 2-0.
Corner awarded.
Ollie Tanner takes a left-footed shot, but it's saved.
AndréYellow CardYellow card shown to Andre Trindade da Costa Neto.
Calum Scanlon takes a left-footed shot, but it's saved.
Rafiki Said takes a right-footed shot, but it's saved.
Jean-Ricner Bellegarde comes on for Jordan James.
Jack Moylan takes a right-footed shot, but it's saved.
Yellow card issued to Adam Armstrong.
Adam Armstrong attempts a header but misses the shot.
Adam ArmstrongAdam Armstrong takes a shot with his head and scores a goal.
assist: Rafiki Saïd
Goal! Adam Armstrong scores to make it 2-0, assisted by Rafiki Said.
Fernando López GonzálezShot by Fernando López González, and he scores with a header!
Goal! Fernando López González scores to make it 1-0, assisted by Hugo Bueno López.
Corner awarded.
Chris Willock takes a right-footed shot, but it's saved.
Rafiki Said takes a right-footed shot, but it is blocked.
Corner awarded.
Jordan James takes a right-footed shot, but it misses the target.
Kick-off! The referee is Josh Smith.
