By Gareth James
Omer Riza is hoping the return of Aaron Ramsey can offer a chink of light for Cardiff City after a dark weekend left the manager needing to apologise to fans.
Amid the gloom of a 7-0 thrashing at Leeds United – which required a humbling “sorry about that” to travelling Bluebirds supporters – was the boost of Ramsey playing 45 minutes for Cardiff’s Under-21s in a 3-2 victory over Everton in the Premier League Cup.
It was the 34-year-old Wales captain’s first appearance on the field since August, having been struck down with a hamstring injury.
Riza welcomed Ramsey’s return, recognising the importance of his presence for the team as they look to recover from their humiliating defeat.
“I managed to watch a bit, it was nice to see Aaron get 45 minutes,” Riza said.
“It’s nice to see him training and on the pitch, it is positive.
“Now we need to get him to a place where he can compete at a high level.”
“They carve Cardiff open!” pic.twitter.com/NuWPBRiMIi
— Leeds United (@LUFC) February 2, 2025
Away from Ramsey’s promising return, Cardiff had no answer for the onslaught from Leeds, who recorded their biggest league victory in over 50 years.
Not since March 1972, when Don Revie’s side famously thrashed Southampton 7-0, had the Yorkshire club hit seven goals in a single league fixture.
The onslaught began with first-half goals from Brenden Aaronson and Manor Solomon before the home side ran riot after the interval. Dan James, Joel Piroe (twice), and substitutes Willy Gnonto and Mateo Joseph all got on the scoresheet, leaving Cardiff in ruins.
“We apologise to the fans because today was very disappointing for the fans and for us – and it can’t happen,” said Riza.
“We said before the game that if you make silly mistakes and you don’t show intensity and desire then Leeds will just carve you open.
“It was a humbling and a very disappointing day for us as a staff and a club and players – we need to learn from it.
“I think we froze in the first 15 minutes and there were so many things we didn’t get right.”
“To lose 7-0 is unacceptable really, no matter how good the opposition is, but we have to move forwards.
“We laid down towards the end and conceded really cheap and simple goals. The aggression to stay in the game wasn’t there.”
Omer Riza has apologised to Cardiff City fans after his side were thrashed 7-0 by Leeds United at Elland Road.
The loss is the Bluebirds’ heaviest since 1966. pic.twitter.com/7pdJd1LX4K
— LBC News Wales (@LBCNewsWales) February 2, 2025
While Cardiff must regroup quickly after their humbling defeat, they remain four points clear of the relegation zone as results involving teams below them all went in their favour.
Ramsey’s return is positive news, alongside the confirmation that key players Callum Robinson, Jak Alnwick, and Callum O’Dowda have signed new contracts.
Leeds have not lost at home for 14 games in all competitions and their last league defeat was a 1-0 reverse at Blackburn on November 30.
After emphatically ending Cardiff’s eight-match unbeaten run in all competitions, Leeds manager Daniel Farke said: “After a win, first of all it’s always relief.
“But of course when you have such an impressive scoreline as this it’s even more enjoyable.
“This league is relentless and you have to become relentless yourself and we showed this today from the first second to the last.
“In the last 20 minutes, when we were 4-0 or 5-0 up, we still had the desire to run back and defend the clean sheet but also the discipline to create more chances – we could have score a few more.
“Quite often in such a game the offensive players have the temptation to cheat a little bit because they’re thinking of being selfish and want to shine a bit more.
“But everyone chipped in for the team and even the offensive players were sprinting back and fighting. We had full control until the last second and that’s why we created so many chances.
“A day like this doesn’t come along very often, especially not in this league, so you have to enjoy it. I’m in a good mood.”
