Cardiff City 5-1 Watford: Match Report, Goals, Stats and Ratings

How Cardiff City won it

The opening goal came in the 11th minute: Jack Moylan from the penalty spot for Cardiff City. Jack Moylan made it 2-0 to Cardiff City in the 35th minute, set up by Cian Ashford. An own goal by Mattie Pollock made it 3-0 to Cardiff City in the 41st minute. Ollie Tanner made it 4-0 to Cardiff City in the 45th minute (+5), set up by Perry Ng. Callum Robinson made it 5-0 to Cardiff City in the 85th minute, set up by David Turnbull. Hector Kyprianou made it 5-1 to Watford in the 87th minute, set up by Iker Bravo.

It was 4-0 at half-time.

Jack Moylan scored twice.

The referee, J. Busby, showed 5 yellow cards: 1 to Cardiff City and 4 to Watford. Chris Willock missed a penalty for Cardiff City in the 65 minute.

Cardiff City: B. Barry-Murphy, 4-1-4-1 · Watford: A. Dionisi, 4-2-3-1.

Moneyball's prediction against the result

Moneyball did not publish a pre-match estimate for this match, so there is nothing to mark it against.

Why it went this way

On the day the expected goals were 1.47 for Cardiff City and 3.57 for Watford.

Cardiff City scored about 3.5 more than their chances were worth: clinical finishing, or a goalkeeper having a bad day.

Watford left about 2.6 goals' worth of chances on the pitch.

Watford created the better chances, 3.57 xG to 1.47, and still lost. On chances alone, the result could easily have gone the other way.

Cardiff City had 10 shots on target, Watford 4.

Watford's goalkeeper made 6 saves.

Cardiff City had 58% of the ball and turned it into the win.

Where the two sides stood before this match

Cardiff City came into it with 12 Championship matches played, scoring 1.6 and conceding 1.4 a match, with 2.04 expected goals for and 1.54 against, and had won 25% of their matches.

Watford came into it with 12 Championship matches played, scoring 0.8 and conceding 1.7 a match, with 1.10 expected goals for and 1.89 against, and had won 25% of their matches.

Cardiff City vs Watford: the match in numbers

Team statistics from Sportmonks.

Player ratings and man of the match

Man of the match: Jack Moylan (Cardiff City), rated 7.9 by Sportmonks, with 2 goals.

Cardiff City

• Jack Moylan 7.9 2 goals
• Ollie Tanner 7.6 1 goal
• Alex Robertson 7.6
• Cian Ashford 7.3 1 assist
• Callum Robinson 7.3 1 goal

Watford

• Federico Ravaglia 7.2
• Hector Kyprianou 7.2 1 goal
• Iker Bravo 7.0 1 assist
• Amin Nabizada 6.7
• Krépin Diatta 6.6

The lowest-rated starter was Jordan Zemura at 5.5. Ratings run from 0 to 10; around 7.0 is a solid match.

What comes next

• Cardiff City: Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Cardiff City Saturday 31 October 2026 · Championship
• Watford: Norwich City vs Watford Saturday 31 October 2026 · Championship

Each preview has Moneyball's estimate for the next match, published before kick-off and marked against the result afterwards, as this one is.

Questions about Cardiff City vs Watford

What was the score in Cardiff City vs Watford?

Cardiff City 5-1 Watford (half-time 4-0), Championship, Tuesday 13 October 2026.

Who scored in Cardiff City vs Watford?

Jack Moylan 11', Jack Moylan 35', Ollie Tanner 45+5', Callum Robinson 85', Hector Kyprianou 87'.

Did Moneyball predict Cardiff City vs Watford correctly?

Moneyball did not publish a pre-match estimate for this match, so there is nothing to mark it against.

Who was man of the match in Cardiff City vs Watford?

Jack Moylan, rated 7.9 by Sportmonks.

Who refereed Cardiff City vs Watford?

J. Busby.