Match report
Norwich hold off late Cardiff rally to win at Cardiff City Stadium
Norwich came from outside Cardiff's dominant possession to win 2-1 in this League Cup Round of 64 tie at Cardiff City Stadium, with a stoppage-time strike proving too little for the home side. Cardiff, managed by Brian Barry-Murphy, controlled the ball for long spells but could not turn that into an early breakthrough against Philippe Clement's Norwich.
AI-assisted match report written from official match data.
Mathias Kvistgaarden put the visitors ahead in the 25th minute, finishing off a Jacob Wright assist to make it 1-0, a lead Norwich held into the break despite Cardiff's territorial advantage. The away side doubled their lead in the 78th minute when Ante Crnac converted a Jack Stacey pass to put the contest at 2-0.
Cardiff pulled one back deep into stoppage time through Yousef Salech in the 90+3rd minute, setting a nervy finish, but there was no time left to find a leveller as Norwich saw out the win to progress in the competition.
Kvistgaarden scored the opening goal in the 25th minute and finished with a 7.6 rating, while strike partner Crnac added the second and rated 7.5 as Norwich's forward pairing did the damage.
Cardiff dominated possession with 65% of the ball but still finished on the losing side, unable to convert their control into the decisive edge.
Norwich won 2–1 away against Cardiff (half-time 0–1).
Cardiff met Norwich in the League Cup (Round of 64). Kick-off was Tuesday, 25 August 2026, 18:00 UTC at Cardiff City Stadium. Referee: James Bell.
Team pages: Cardiff · Norwich · League Cup
Key moments
- 25' Goal: Mathias Kvistgaarden (assist: Jacob Wright) — 0–1 · Watch Mathias Kvistgaarden's goal video (25')
- 78' Goal: Ante Crnac (assist: Jack Stacey) — 0–2 · Watch Ante Crnac's goal video (78')
- 90' Goal: Yousef Salech — 1–2 · Watch Yousef Salech's goal video (90')
Starting line-ups
Cardiff (4-1-4-1)
Norwich (4-4-2)
Sirius · Why these numbers
Before kick-off Sirius gave Cardiff 35%, the draw 27%, Norwich 38%. It finished Cardiff 1–2 Norwich.
Norwich's rating edge outweighs Cardiff's home ground — Norwich are the stronger side on our strength rating, and that is most of Norwich's 38%. The draw at 27% is about what a gap this size usually leaves.
Why Norwich at 38%?
Norwich sit 115 points higher on our strength rating — 1424 to 1540. Sides with a 100–200-point rating edge on the road won 40.1% of 13,091 such games. The 300 most similar past games finished 39–23–38.
Why only 38%?
Cardiff sit -0.42 goals per game below chance-quality — cold streaks like this have bounced back. Finishing swings carry a receipt at this rating gap too: sides finishing this cold won 38.7% of 2,384 such games where the class table expected 36.3%.
Why the draw at 27%?
With a rating gap this size the draw starts at 27.2%. These teams' recent games average 3.1 goals — a typical goals environment. Games in that environment drew 24.6% of 24,869.
What did we measure but not count?
Cardiff have gained 83 strength-rating points over their last 10 games. Momentum is measured but not yet proven: climbing sides won 41.4% of 12,225 such games vs 40.7% class-expected — inside the noise band, so it stays at 0 points until the receipt clears its evidence bar. Last 6 between them: Cardiff 2 wins, 0 draws, Norwich 4 wins. Most recently Norwich 4–2 Cardiff, 1 year ago. Fixture history hasn't carried forward once class is level: past leaders won just 28.1% of 5591 such games — no measurable edge, 0 points.
Sirius probabilities, frozen at kick-off. Analysis, not betting advice. How Sirius is doing this season · Full breakdown, evidence cards and squad news in the Match Insights tab
About this match
On this page: the Cardiff vs Norwich final score and result, goal highlights and video clips of every goal, who scored, starting lineups, match stats and the full match report from this League Cup fixture.
- Who scored and when — a goal-by-goal timeline of the match.
- Match stats — possession, shots, expected goals (xG), corners and cards.
- Starting lineups and player ratings for both teams.
- Head-to-head record and recent form for both sides.
- Watch Mathias Kvistgaarden's goal against Cardiff (25').
- Watch Ante Crnac's goal against Cardiff (78').
- Watch Yousef Salech's goal against Norwich (90').
Watch the goals: goal highlights and video clips of every goal from Cardiff 1–2 Norwich. Explore more on the Cardiff and Norwich team pages or the League Cup page.
Quick answers
›What was the final score of Cardiff vs Norwich?
Norwich won 2–1 away against Cardiff (half-time 0–1).
›Who scored in Cardiff vs Norwich?
Mathias Kvistgaarden (25') for Norwich; Ante Crnac (78') for Norwich; Yousef Salech (90') for Cardiff.
›Where can I watch Cardiff vs Norwich highlights?
Goal highlights and video clips from Cardiff 1–2 Norwich are on this page — open the videos tab to watch every goal.
›What is the head-to-head record between Cardiff and Norwich?
Cardiff and Norwich have met 10 times — 3 wins for Cardiff, 7 wins for Norwich and 0 draws.