Cardiff City missed the opportunity to pull away from the Premier League relegation zone as a Gerard Deulofeu hat-trick inspired Watford to a 5-1 win in the Welsh capital on Friday.
Neil Warnock's side could have moved up to 13th with a win – four points ahead of 18th-placed Southampton – but were undone by a trio of superb finishes from Watford's Spanish forward and two more from Troy Deeney.
The Bluebirds – who scored a late consolation through Sol Bamba – were aggrieved not to be awarded a penalty at 1-0 down, but they can scarcely have any complaints with the result after barely laying a glove on the Hornets over the 90 minutes.