Leeds United 7-0 Cardiff City: Men against boys as Bluebirds battered in shameful display

Cardiff City's nine-match unbeaten run came crashing down in ugly fashion as they were battered 7-0 by Leeds United.

It was a walk in the park for the Championship leaders, who struck twice in the first half before netting a further four after the break to really put Cardiff to the sword. The Bluebirds were shocking, truly appalling, the hosts' clear quality notwithstanding.

Too many sub-par performances, too many duels lost, not enough fight, not enough quality. Simply horrendous. Their worst result of the season and worst performance by a considerable margin.

The result will be a major disappointment to Omer Riza, whose side made real strides in January and looked to have turned a corner. But it was men against boys in this most sobering defeat at Elland Road. They can only hope it's not too damaging, with winnable games coming up in the coming weeks.

It looked destined to be a long afternoon in west Yorkshire. Leeds were playing a different sport to Cardiff from the get-go. Sign up to our daily Cardiff City newsletter here.

They fizzed sharp passes back and forth and their wingers had seemingly installed jets into the heels of their boots, such was their pace in comparison to the Bluebirds' centre backs. It was backs-to-the-wall pretty early on and that wall was breached twice within the first 13 minutes.

With five minutes on the clock, Leeds turned defence into attack in lightning-fast fashion. A ball was slotted in behind Cardiff's defence and the rapid Dan James latched on to it and rounded goalkeeper Jak Alnwick. City scrambled, but James stayed cool and picked out Brenden Aaronson in the middle of the box and the forward will have few easier finishes this season.

The second goal was a familiar story for Cardiff - a