Gudmonsson shows his value again: Five things learned as Burnley beat Cardiff

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It was a tense affair between two sides lingering near the foot of the table, but Burnley prevailed with a 2-1 win against Cardiff.

The first-half bore witness to a very tame affair between two sides almost paralysed by the fear of lurking in the lower reaches of the Premier League. Burnley were particularly tentative, not registering a single shot on target.

Despite this, the Turf Moor club entered the second-half with fresh impetus and broke the deadlock less than 10 minutes after the restart. Johann Berg Gudmundsson heading home from a lofted Ashley Westwood cross.

Cardiff would soon peg back through a fine Josh Murphy finish, but Burnley struck again through Sam Vokes, who netted his first goal of the season to seal victory.

So, with Burnley climbing up the Premier League table and Cardiff still without a win, what did we learn?

1. Tough luck for Tarkowski

With Gareth Southgate due to select his latest England squad for October’s UEFA Nations League matches against Spain and Croatia next Thursday, James Tarkowski was dealt a bitter blow this afternoon after coming off injured with just 27 minutes on the clock.

The 25-year-old currently has two international caps to his name, with the latest coming during the Three Lions’ 1-0 win over Switzerland last month; and he has been one of the more standout and consistent performers in a struggling Burnley side this season.

Tarkowski’s importance to Sean Dyche’s side cannot be understated, as the Manchester-born defender has blocked more shots (14) than any player across Europe’s top five divisions. In terms of domestic contributions, Tarkowski has also made the fifth-most clearances (44) of any player, and produced the second-most winning-tackles of any centre-back (15) in the Premier League.

England may still have a vast array of centre-back options in Harry Maguire, Joe Gomez and John Stones, but Tarkowski was really starting to prove his worth as well as showcasing his defensive credentials – the extent of the groin injury is yet to be confirmed, but this will be a significant blow to the Clarets should it be long-term.

2. First-half season low figures

Next Sunday will witness Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea all in action, but for today, fans across the country had to make do with Cardiff City vs. Burnley; hardly an apt fixture to honour the moniker “Super-Sunday.”

And if anyone was expecting this match to defy logic or even spring a surprise, then you would have been very much in the minority – and wrong for that matter – as the first-half of this encounter witnessed just 280 attempted passes with a completion rate of 59%.

Those figures are both season record lows for a first-half Premier League match this term, and to make matters worse, the Clarets failed to register a single shot on target, with the Bluebirds registering just two themselves.

The first-half was certainly not a pulsating fixture that got our hearts racing by any stretch of the imagination; it was more of an old-school encounter found on football fields up and down the country on a Sunday morning – luckily the second-half proved more entertaining.

3. Cardiff defenders showing forwards how its done 

All of Cardiff’s assists this season have come from their defensive players, with captain Sean Morrison providing two, left-back Joe Bennett providing one, and now Bruno Ecuele Manga providing the other.

The Gabon international registered the latest one this afternoon after teeing up Josh Murphy’s equaliser in the second-half, with the 23-year-old scoring his first Premier League goal, but it should be a concern for Neil Warnock that only his defenders are setting up significant chances.

Prior to this match, Morrison had created seven chances for his team-mates – more than any other Cardiff player – and without the pace of Junior Hoilett or Bobby Reid, the club will seriously continue to struggle in the final third.

A major concern for the Welsh club is that after six matches they had scored the least number of goals in the Premier League, conceded the most, registered the least amount of shots on target, completed the least number of passes and had the lowest passing accuracy; major work needs to be done for Warnock – no wonder he prefers the Championship.

4. Gudmundsson vital for Dyche

Johann Berg Gudmundsson has now been directly involved in more goals (four) than any other Burnley player in the Premier League this season, and he scored a crucial goal for his side this afternoon after nodding home Burnley’s first shot on target.

In fact, since the beginning of last campaign, Gudmundsson has now been directly involved in more Premier League goals than any other Burnley player (14), scoring three goals and registering 11 assists.

Such is Gudmundsson’s importance to Burnley in the league that prior to this match, the Icelandic had created more assists (two) than any of his team-mates, created more goalscoring opportunities (six), taken on more shots (nine) and taken on the second-most dribbles (five).

The 27-year-old further showcased his worth by turning provider after Cardiff pegged his side back. Burnley were struggling to find their footing as the Bluebirds piled on the pressure in the second-half, but a delightful delivery from Gudmundsson found its way to Sam Vokes, who duly netted his side back in front.

5. Burnley break newly-promoted hoodoo

Prior to this match, Burnley had never won an away match against a newly-promoted side in the Premier League before, with that record standing at six draws and five losses in their 11 encounters.

However, Sean Dyche has now put a stop to that statistic with his side’s victory in Wales this afternoon. This was, in fact, Dyche’s first win against the Bluebirds, with the Burnley boss having previously drawn all five meetings with the side – twice during his stint in charge of Watford and three in charge of Burnley.

Last season the Clarets drew away to Huddersfield Town, drew away to Newcastle United and incredibly drew away to Brighton & Hove Albion despite finishing seventh in the league.

They have now picked up their first away win of the season, and incredibly the club have now already played all three newly-promoted sides, with Burnley faltering at both Craven Cottage against Fulham and the Molineux against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The post Gudmonsson shows his value again: Five things learned as Burnley beat Cardiff appeared first on Squawka News.



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