Cardiff manager Erol Bulut played down his team’s outstanding form after a 2-0 win over Rotherham.
The Bluebirds advanced into the Championship play-off places with a fourth successive league victory.
It was hardly a scintillating display from the Bluebirds who struggled to break down limited opponents in the first half.
But once striker Kion Etete put the hosts in front with a 56th-minute header, the result never looked in doubt.
Defender Perry Ng made certain with a second in the 89th minute.
Bulut said: “Nothing is easy, but it is perfect to have four wins. We have our fighting spirit back, it is going really well but we cannot stop.
“It wasn’t easy to open their defence and there’s always the danger of getting caught on the counter-attack.
“I am pleased for Kion after his goal but it is good that other players are chipping in with goals too.
“It is up to us now to keep things going and to continue to work hard and improve.”
For Rotherham, it was an afternoon to forget. They barely laid a glove on their opponents in the Welsh capital.
The Millers have just one win from their opening nine games and already look relegation candidates.
A Rotherham equaliser never looked likely, with the Bluebirds defence rock solid.
Manager Matt Taylor admitted his side had offered little threat but stressed Championship life will “always be a struggle” for the club.
Taylor said: “We have to make games ugly and scruffy away from home, and we tried to chase the game.
“But we needed a bit of luck to go our way around the opposition goal.
“We know we are short of certain types of players, but we have to see that’s the best we have been for an hour. We just have to convert that to 90 minutes.
“In terms of where we have been for our first four away games that was an improvement. Our league position is a concern, but we are always going to be fighting at Rotherham.
“Our home form suggests we are good enough. But something has to change away from home. That did happen for an hour, but we’re still sat here having been beaten.”
Taylor was serving a one-game touchline ban at the Cardiff City Stadium after picking up a third yellow card of the season during his side’s draw with Preston last weekend.
But he revealed he was a lot nearer the action than he expected.
“I was meant to be out of earshot and communicating via a walkie-talkie, but I was put in a seat only about 10 rows back,” said Taylor.
“It was nothing to do with me, that’s where they put me.”
No Neymar return until 2025, says Al-Hilal boss Jesus
Neymar will not return from his anterior cruciate ligament injury until January 2025 at the earliest, Al-Hilal boss Jorge Jesus has warned.
Neymar left Paris Saint-Germain for Al-Hilal in a €90million deal in August 2023, becoming one of the faces of the Saudi Pro League's major recruitment drive.
However, he only played five matches for the club before rupturing his ACL while on international duty with Brazil last October.
The 32-year-old subsequently missed the remainder of the season as well as the Selecao's ill-fated Copa America campaign, and he remains some way away from a return.
Neymar was removed from Al-Hilal's Saudi Pro League squad in September, with the 19-time champions only able to register a maximum of eight foreign players for the first half of the season.
Reports had suggested Neymar was close to a return after Al-Hilal posted footage of him training on social media, but Jesus says Brazil's all-time leading scorer must wait until the halfway point of the campaign before being considered.
"Neymar is an important player for Al Hilal and the league in general," Jesus told reporters on Tuesday.
"I can't, however, specify a date as to when he will return, but we will look at the situation in January."
With no restrictions on foreign players featuring in the AFC Champions League, Neymar could, in theory, play in that competition if he returns to fitness before January.
Al-Bukayriyah 0-1 Al-Hilal: Leonardo sends defending King's Cup champions through
Marcos Leonardo's first-half penalty was enough to book Al-Hilal a spot in the King's Cup round of 16 with a 1-0 win over Al-Bukayriyah.
The defending champions dominated from the start, with Abdullah Al Hamddan and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic both seeing early efforts saved by Dziugas Bartkus.
Al Hamddan then won the game-winning spot-kick in the 40th minute, being brought down in the box by Ibrahim Al Sunaytan, and Leonardo made no mistake from 12 yards.
Al-Hilal kept pushing for another goal, with substitutes Renan Lodi and Aleksandar Mitrovic both testing Bartkus in the second half, but they could not add to the scoreline.
Neymar, who is gearing up for his return to action after a year on the sidelines, was not involved for Al-Hilal, who lead the way in the Saudi Pro League.
Data Debrief: Leonardo proves the difference
Al-Hilal were dominant in the first half, completely overwhelming their opponents as they had 12 of their 17 shots before the break, getting five of those on target.
But across the 90 minutes, it was Leonardo who was the standout, having the second-most shots (three) and accumulating 0.82 expected goals (xG).
His only shot on target may have been the winning penalty, but he proved a handful as he also had the most touches in the opposition box (10).
Al-Bukayriyah 0-1 Al-Hilal: Leonardo sends defending King Cup champions through
Marcos Leonardo's first-half penalty was enough to book Al-Hilal a spot in the King Cup round of 16 with a 1-0 win over Al-Bukayriyah.
The defending champions dominated from the start, with Abdullah Al Hamddan and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic both seeing early efforts saved by Dziugas Bartkus.
Al Hamddan then won the game-winning spot-kick in the 40th minute, being brought down in the box by Ibrahim Al Sunaytan, and Leonardo made no mistake from 12 yards.
Al-Hilal kept pushing for another goal, with substitutes Renan Lodi and Aleksandar Mitrovic both testing Bartkus in the second half, but they could not add to the scoreline.
Neymar, who is gearing up for his return to action after a year on the sidelines, was not involved for Al-Hilal, who lead the way in the Saudi Pro League.
Data Debrief: Leonardo proves the difference
Al-Hilal were dominant in the first half, completely overwhelming their opponents as they had 12 of their 17 shots before the break, getting five of those on target.
But across the 90 minutes, it was Leonardo who was the standout, having the second-most shots (three) and accumulating 0.82 expected goals (xG).
His only shot on target may have been the winning penalty, but he proved a handful as he also had the most touches in the opposition box (10).
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