Cardiff City 0-2 Sunderland: Bluebirds begin season with disappointing home defeat

Cardiff City began their 2024/25 Championship campaign with a disappointing 2-0 home defeat by Sunderland.

The Bluebirds hope to change their dreadful record at Cardiff City Stadium from last term and were keen to start the season with a bang in front of their fans. Sadly for City supporters, it was not to be.

Goals in each half, one from Luke O'Nien and the other from Jack Clarke, put a dent in the quiet optimism so many Cardiff fans were feeling heading into the campaign. Despite controlling so much of the game, Sunderland showed them just how important having that clinical edge is.

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There was no Mark McGuinness for Cardiff amid transfer interest from Luton Town among others. He missed last week's Bristol Rovers clash owing to a small knock and was absent again on the opening day of the season. So, too was Ryan Wintle, who has been told he can leave this summer.

Summer signings Wilfried Kanga and Alex Robertson were named on the bench, but Calum Chambers and Chris Willock got their competitive Bluebirds debuts.

Callum Robinson got the nod up front ahead of Yakou Meite, while Ollie Tanner was selected on the right wing. Rubin Colwill had to settle for a spot on the bench

The Bluebirds showcased a slightly different brand of football the one they finished last season with. They had a more controlled build-up and tried to play through Sunderland, but with mixed results.

They did have a flurry of chances on eight minutes, with Ollie Tanner seeing one volleyed effort deflected wide before Dimitrios Goutas's headed effort was acrobatically saved by Anthony Patterson.

But while there were green shoots of encouragement, it was belied by an awful