"It's pathetic" - Luke Williams blasts Swansea City squad after 3-0 Cardiff City drubbing | OneFootball

Luke Williams slammed his players after Swansea City's chastening 3-0 south Wales derby defeat at Cardiff City

Swansea City head coach Luke Williams pulled no punches as he brandished his players as "pathetic" in the immediate aftermath of Saturday lunchtime's 3-0 thrashing away to fierce rivals Cardiff City in the south Wales derby.

Though Swans have enjoyed the bulk of the bragging rights in recent years, even completing a first-ever league double - and then a 'double double' between 2021 and 2023 - it was Cardiff who emerged victorious from yesterday's crunch south Wales derby showdown in the Welsh capital, inspired by second-half goals from Callum Robinson and Dimitrios Goutas.

Following a cagey first-half which saw opportunities arrive at a real premium for both sides, Cardiff - who had grown into the game prior to the interval - came racing out of the blocks and took the lead on the 47th minute when Callum Robinson met an excellent delivery from Ollie Tanner and advanced past Harry Darling to fire low into the bottom right corner.

Minutes later, Robinson, who scored in the 1-1 draw between the two sides back in August, reacted first to a poor backpass from Josh Tymon to Darling, which he intercepted before placing his strike in the exact corner to fire past a helpless Lawrence Vigouroux and double the Bluebirds advantage, ensuing bedlam at the Cardiff City Stadium.

Swansea fell flat on their feet and were kept at bay by a buoyed Cardiff side, who then scored the game's third and final goal when Dimitrous Goutas met Alex Robertson's corner with a powerful header just over 20 minutes from time.

Luke Williams slams Swansea City players following Cardiff City flashpoint

It's not uncommon for tensions to spill over in matches of this magnitude, and there were a number of flashpoints which underpinned the animosity felt on both sides towards the fixture.

Tensions had been heightened when Portuguese midfielder Goncalo Franco clattered into Omer Riza on the sidelines in an attempt to keep the ball in play, though the Bluebirds boss was incensed and felt it was deliberate and received his marching orders for charging onto the pitch in retaliation.

It all came to a head, however, in a post-match melee between both sets of players and staff - the cause of which is unclear. But Williams was left bitterly disappointed by his side's abject performance against City and believes the Swans left much of the fight needed to win the encounter until after the match.

The 43-year-old told WalesOnline: "I feel very disappointed that we started the game fine and then the performances just evaporate, fall off the edge of a cliff. That’s really upsetting, really worrying.

"We have failed to perform at a consistent level but today, the stark change in our performance from probably half an hour in, we started to lose a grip of the game, we started to give away a lot of corners and free-kicks and then we suffered so badly.

"So many players suffered so badly and got worse as the game went on… I imagine it's a lot of to do with the atmosphere. I think the opposition could feel that and did a brilliant job to heap pressure on us when we felt weak."

When quizzed on the post-match coming-together, Williams added: "I think from our point of view it's pathetic. If we think in any way that it's going to in some way take attention away from the shoddy performance then they're very much mistaken.

"The time for fighting was on the pitch. Fighting for the ball. Fighting for our fans.

"To make one more run forward. To make one more tackle. To jump for one more header. To try to make one more action in the box. To try and make one more recovery run when your legs have gone.

"That's fighting. Not scrapping on the pitch, swearing and pushing. Pathetic."

Luke Williams must have serious Swansea City concerns

Swansea's form thus far in 2025 simply must be treated as a major concern, with much of Williams' positive work in the first-half of the campaign seemingly becoming undone.

The Swans marked the New Year by receiving a shock 4-0 hammering away to relegation-threatened Portsmouth, which was inspired by ex-Cardiff winger Josh Murphy, and played out a 1-1 draw with West Bromwich Albion before suffering consecutive 3-0 defeats at the hands of Southampton in the FA Cup third round and then, of course, their bitter rivals this weekend.

Williams himself faces a battle in winning the Jack Army faithful back over following much controversy surrounding his comments on speculation linking him to the then-vacant Baggies job, which he stopped short of playing down, and a thrashing in the south Wales derby was the last thing needed for both manager and club at this moment in time.

The nature of Swansea's defeat was deeply concerning.

The visitors fell some way off playing with the intensity, tempo, fire and passion which has so often underpinned their most famous scalps in recent years as they were repeatedly punished and put to the sword by a Cardiff side who, quite simply, wanted it so much more.

But it may not get any easier for Williams and Swansea, who will face a considerable challenge in dusting off the cobwebs and bidding to return to winning ways with a daunting trip to league leaders Sheffield United next on the agenda before clashes with Norwich, Coventry and Bristol City.