Cardiff City 1-5 Watford: Gerard Deulofeu and Troy Deeney star as Hornets thrash Bluebirds in Premier Leauge
Deulofeu scored a hat-trick while Deeney hit two to seal impressive win in Wales and move their side up to seventh
Gerard Deulofeu fired Watford up to seventh in the Premier League with an outstanding hat-trick against Cardiff City in their 5-1 win.
Deulofeu, recalled to the Hornets' starting line-up after sitting out the FA Cup win at QPR, fired Watford into a first-half lead before scoring twice in as many minutes just after the hour-mark.
Troy Deeney added further gloss with two more - his first league goals since the start of January coming either side of a Sol Bamba consolation.
The sensational result lifts the Hornets above Wolves in the table and on to 40 points.
Early Watford pressure saw Janmaat sidefoot over the crossbar after working a one-two with Deeney and Roberto Pereyra's deflected effort was comfortably held by Neil Etheridge in the Cardiff goal.
Ben Foster had to be sharper at the other end when Oumar Niasse reached Callum Paterson's clever chip over the visitors' defence, the Watford goalkeeper first blocking and then scrambling the ball away to safety.
Two minutes later the visitors were ahead when Morrison, Bruno Manga and Joe Bennett all tried, and failed, to dispossess Deeney and Deulofeu took charge of the loose ball to bury a low shot.
Deeney almost doubled the lead from 20 yards, this time Etheridge getting a hand to the shot, and Warnock was incandescent on the touchline when Murphy was felled and nothing was given.
Cardiff changed formation at half-time with Bacuna and Bennett operating as wing-backs, but Watford still looked the more polished side as Bamba blocked Deeney's goalbound effort.
The energy of substitute Junior Hoilett gave Cardiff brief hope, but Watford soon sprang a counter-attack and Deulofeu beat Manga to run half the length of the field.
Deulofeu rounded Etheridge with ease and two minutes later he burst on to Etienne Capoue's threaded pass to chip the Cardiff goalkeeper.
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The Spaniard was not finished there, though, and he skipped through after 73 minutes to provide Deeney with the simplest of tap-ins.
Bamba came up with a consolation by bundling home from a goalmouth scramble eight minutes from time, but Deeney pounced again in the dying moments when Will Hughes set him up from close range.