QPR claimed a 2-1 victory over Cardiff at Loftus Road in the Championship, extending their unbeaten run to four matches while the visitors dropped points again. R. Burrell proved decisive, netting both of the home side's goals in the first half and early second period. Cardiff pulled one back through P. Ng but could not find an equaliser despite dominating possession.
And here's the thing about the opening exchange — Burrell found space in the box to finish cleanly at the 36-minute mark. He did not need to wait long for a second chance, capitalising on a defensive lapse just after the interval. Cardiff had spent the opening forty-five minutes probing without creating anything meaningful, which by then made the breakthrough all the more telling.
The visitors finally broke through at 75 minutes when P. Ng redirected a cross into the net. He picked up a booking shortly after, and the late yellow cards were a sign of a game growing increasingly tight. Cardiff threw bodies forward after the substitution window at 72 minutes, bringing on four players including T. Lamptey and G. Kamara in a desperate bid for parity.
To be fair, QPR's approach was straightforward enough — keep the shape, hit when opportunities arise. They worked the ball into dangerous areas with purpose, creating four big chances against Cardiff's single effort. The visitors could not convert their dominance into goals, and the home side had the game won inside the first hour, even if they did not know it yet.
The statistics told a familiar story: Cardiff held 64 per cent possession and made 107 attacks, while QPR managed just 66. But expected goals told a different tale — 2.09 for the hosts against 0.6 for the visitors. Four shots on target from QPR produced two goals, whereas Cardiff's three attempts yielded only one. The efficiency gap was clear enough.
QPR moved further clear in the upper reaches of the table, sitting second with ten points from four games. Cardiff, meanwhile, remained stuck in nineteenth place with just three points and no victories. The result extended QPR's unbeaten start while adding to a pattern of draws and narrow defeats for the visitors.
