In their FA Cup third-round rematch at Elland Road, Wilfried Gnonto and Patrick Bamford each scored twice as Leeds crushed Cardiff 5-2.
In the first minute, Gnonto scored a spectacular volley to get Leeds off to a fast start. After Rodrigo scored his 11th goal of the year to make it 3-0 before halftime, Gnonto added another goal.
After Callum Robinson netted two late consolation goals for Cardiff, the second of which was a penalty, the substitute Patrick Bamford scored twice in the second half to help Leeds advance to the competition's fourth round for the first time in six years.
For the first time since defeating West Brom 5-0 in December 2020, Leeds scored five goals, and they now have an away match at Accrington or Boreham Wood.
The managerless Sky Bet Championship underachievers were defeated before halftime at Cardiff City Stadium 10 days ago, but a stoppage-time equalizer from Leeds teenager Sonny Perkins saved a replay.
Cardiff fired Mark Hudson on Saturday after their 1-1 home draw with Wigan extended their winless streak to nine games in all competitions, but interim manager Dean Whitehead's first game in charge was a disaster.
After just 28 seconds, Rodrigo clipped an inch-perfect pass into the penalty area, which was cleared by Cardiff defender Tom Sang and was met by Gnonto's scissor-kick volley into the roof of the net.
Curtis Nelson, the captain of Cardiff, thought he had scored before halftime when he headed Sheyi Ojo's corner into the net. Referee Thomas Bramall, however, disallowed it following a VAR intervention because Andy Rinomhota was offside. After the break, Leeds continued where they left off, and Gnonto attempted to score a hat-trick but shot into the side-netting.
Alnwick stopped substitute Joe Gelhardt's piercing shot, but two more halftime substitutions combined to give Leeds a 4-0 lead in the 71st minute when Bamford latched on to a feed from Luke Ayling and executed a tidy finish.
Five minutes later, Bamford added a second goal to make it 5-0. After being set up by Gelhardt, he casually finished with the outside of his left boot. By converting a stoppage-time penalty after VAR determined that Marc Roca handled the ball, Cardiff's replacement Robinson helped Leeds' night lose some of its luster.
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