Cardiff boss Erol Bulut will not get carried away with any potential Championship play-off talk despite his side’s thumping 4-0 win at Huddersfield.
The Bluebirds romped to a big victory at the John Smith’s Stadium, one which lifted his team into the top six.
Asked about a play-off push this term, Bulut said: “It’s too early to talk about that, anything can happen at this stage of the season.
“Everything can still change, we’ve still got a long way to go in front of us this season.
“We’ve had really good performances earlier this season and not got the results we’ve deserved.
“Against Swansea and against Ipswich we played really well, but then last week against Blackburn, that was just what I didn’t want to see.
“Tonight was much more what I expect. Against the ball and with the ball we were so much better, and to be honest, it probably should have been more than four goals we won by.
“I’m satisfied of course, but if we’d have been a bit calmer in front of the goal, we would have scored more. Confidence is great in the dressing room.
“Defensively we were strong too, and a clean sheet away from home is good. We’ve been good offensively, though, so we need to carry this momentum on now.”
The game was over by half-time as the Bluebirds were already 3-0 up.
Some shocking defending did not help as goals from Callum Robinson, Dimitrios Goutas and Yakou Meite had Bulut’s men in cruise control.
The Bluebirds’ fourth goal – superbly curled home by Perry Ng – ensured Terriers boss Darren Moore was sent crashing down to earth after a first win under his charge at the weekend.
Moore said: “Let’s not dress it up, that just wasn’t good enough. We’ve conceded early on, and we’ve never really recovered from that.
“I think all the goals came from set-plays too, which is a big disappointment.
“I made the changes at half-time and changed the system around, but despite one or two chances in the second half, the final touch in the opposition penalty area just was not there.
“There are areas we need to look at going forward. Certainly goals can happen in football, but most of them were unavoidable. We have to take responsibility for that.
“Goals change games and breed confidence, and we need that tonight. But there was a bit too much hesitancy I thought.
“We took the plaudits and the pats on the back after beating QPR on Saturday, but we did not deserve anything like that tonight.
“It’s been a disappointing night all round, but we’ve got a big game at Leeds this weekend to focus on now.”
Celtic 3-0 Rangers: Hosts claim derby day spoils with thrashing
Callum McGregor scored late on to seal Celtic's 3-0 victory over rivals Rangers in the Old Firm Derby at Celtic Park on Sunday.
Daizen Maeda and Kyogo Furuhashi had put the Bhoys in control in the first half, with Rangers unable to mount a comeback.
Rangers' best chance came inside 10 minutes, with James Tavernier picking out Rabbi Matondo, who thumped his header wide from the edge of the six-yard box.
Kyogo thought he had broken the deadlock just one minute later, but his clinical finish was disallowed as Nicolas Kuhn had just drifted offside before teeing him up.
Maeda's close-range effort did count in the 17th minute, with Alistair Johnson drifting in behind Rangers' defence to set him up for a tap-in.
And Kyogo would get on the scoresheet just before the break, driving a low shot through the crowded area and in from 30 yards out to put Celtic in control.
McGregor added the gloss in the 75th minute, netting in a third straight game as his long-range strike deflected past Butland.
Data Debrief: Clement's derby woes go on
Celtic maintained their perfect start to the season, with the Bhoys yet to concede in their four games so far. Kasper Schmeichel only had three saves to make, staying alert to deny Tavernier and protect his clean sheet late on.
But it was more misery for Gers boss Philippe Clement, who has now failed to win an Old Firm Derby in five attempts in all competitions (one draw, four losses); only Graeme Murty (also five) and William Wilton (eight) also failed to win any of their first five games against Celtic in charge of Rangers.
As a whole, Rangers have not enjoyed their recent trips to Celtic Park - since the start of 2022-23, they have lost all five of their away games against Celtic. The last time that happened was in April 1980.
'Many options' open for Osimhen amid Napoli exile, says director Manna
Napoli director Giovanni Manna insists there are "many options" still open for Victor Osimhen, who has been exiled from their squad for the Serie A season after failing to clinch a transfer.
Osimhen was linked with a move to Premier League giants Chelsea or Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli in the recent transfer window, yet a switch failed to materialise.
Chelsea were reportedly unwilling to meet his wage demands, while Al-Ahli signed Brentford's Ivan Toney after Osimhen refused to move to Saudi Arabia.
Osimhen, who scored 26 goals in Napoli's Scudetto-winning campaign of 2022-23, has now been left out of Antonio Conte's Serie A squad, with Romelu Lukaku brought in as his replacement and taking the Nigerian's number nine shirt.
The striker now faces the prospect of sitting out four months until the January transfer window opens, unless Napoli can find a way to move him on.
"The situation is very clear. Victor expressed his absolute desire to not stay at, or play for, Napoli," Manna told DAZN on Saturday.
"We tried to make him happy. Then there was a demand and an offer, and we thought we had concluded negotiations, but then it didn't go through.
"He expressed his desire to no longer play for Napoli and so we made other choices.
"The transfer market is still open in some countries, so there are many options, but I don't think Victor will go to Saudi Arabia."
Napoli picked up their second win of the Serie A season on Saturday, with stoppage-time goals from Lukaku and Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa firing them to a 2-1 comeback victory over Parma.
After that game, Conte confirmed Osimhen was not part of his plans, saying: "No player will be reintegrated.
"Those who are out of the project will remain out of the project. We made our choices and work in one direction all together."
Guardiola hopeful of Foden return after international break
Pep Guardiola is hopeful Manchester City will have Phil Foden available after the international break, casting doubt on his chances of representing England in the Nations League.
Foden has suffered from illness in the early stages of the season, missing victories over Ipswich Town and West Ham after playing 45 minutes at Chelsea on matchday one.
While City have not suffered for Foden's absence, maintaining a perfect record to start the campaign, Guardiola is keen to have the 2023-24 Premier League Player of the Season available as soon as possible.
Foden scored 19 league goals and added eight assists in 2023-24, netting vital hat-tricks against Brentford and Aston Villa as City were flawless throughout the run-in.
He has been included in Lee Carsley's England squad for their upcoming fixtures against the Republic of Ireland and Finland, but Guardiola is not certain he will feature in those games.
Asked how long City fans will have to wait to see Foden again, Guardiola said: "Hopefully not too long. Hopefully after the international break he'll be ready.
"He played against Chelsea for 45 minutes but then after he didn't feel good. He had tests and feels much better, but he still doesn't feel perfect.
"I prefer we have that time for him to recover and be fine and after, come back after the international break and be ready for those games."
City's next Premier League fixture sees them host Brentford on September 14, before they welcome Inter to the Etihad Stadium for their Champions League opener four days later.
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