Cardiff City: Omer Riza must take long-awaited Chris Willock action given Stoke City evidence | OneFootball

Chris Willock hasn't featured much under Omer Riza at Cardiff City, although the Bluebirds boss may no longer be able to justify leaving him out

Chris Willock has been used sparingly by Omer Riza ever since his initial Cardiff City interim appointment all the way back in September, although Saturday's imperious performance at Stoke City should now make it difficult for the Bluebirds boss to resist his talents.

Cardiff made the tricky winger their first signing of the summer transfer window by landing him after his contract expired with Championship rivals QPR, in a move which appeared a wholly exciting one at the time.

Supporters were, by and large, incredibly satisfied by the deal to sign Willock, who had previously been tipped as one of the very finest wide players at Championship level.

Willock was an early favourite of Erol Bulut, who started him in four of Cardiff's first six league matches before being relieved of his duties amid a disastrous start to the campaign, although Riza has evidently not been quite so keen on the 26-year-old.

Indeed, Willock has started fewer games under Riza, who has been in charge for nearly three months after initially taking over on an interim basis before finally being appointed full-time by Vincent Tan, than he did under Bulut in August alone.

Although the Turkish boss had many flaws at the Bluebirds, which were exposed to the nth degree at the start of the season, his trust in Willock is a blueprint which Riza simply must follow after Saturday's latest display.

Chris Willock's Cardiff City performance against Stoke City was an eye-opener

Cardiff did well to travel to Stoke City and collect a draw on Saturday afternoon, even if they were agonisingly denied of three points and their first away victory since April when Jak Alnwick over-committed himself from a corner and was duly caught out with a 95th-minute equaliser from Ben Gibson.

Nonetheless, anything other than a second straight defeat had to be regarded as a relative positive, with spirits understandably dampened from their apathetic 2-0 home loss to Preston North End last week.

Cardiff displayed an increased sense of attacking urgency and were much more dangerous in transition, with Willock at the heartbeat of just about all that went well for the visitors.

Having earned a rare start, just his third by Riza and this time in a slightly-unconventional inside forward role alongside Anwar El Ghazi, Willock seized the opportunity accordingly and was his side's standout attacker on the day, where he often ran Stoke ragged.

A superb run from Willock essentially made Cardiff's second goal, which came courtesy of Potters' defender Gibson.

He constantly made things happen for Cardiff, with his willingness to show for the ball and drift past opponents in tight pockets of space making all the difference, while he's also showing signs of striking up a telepathic left-sided partnership with Callum O'Dowda.

Stoke's defenders simply could not lay a glove on Willock, who completed the most dribbles in the match (6) along with being subjected to the most fouls (3).

Impressively - and slightly more surprisingly, it must be said - Willock also made five recoveries while winning the most duels in the match (10), showing a lesser-seen commitment to out-of-possession work.

That's not to say Willock is lazy, of course - his work-ethic was called into question by QPR supporters but is yet to be any sort of issue at any stage for Cardiff - rather that his technical gifts mean his presence is much more prominent when the Bluebirds are ticking with the ball in forward areas.

His performance, then, was multi-faceted, which makes it all the more impressive.

It's even more commendable given Willock played somewhat of position in a sort of hybrid role between the number 10 role and wide-left, and while it's not yet clear if Riza will opt for the same shape against Sheffield United on Saturday, Willock must start regardless and really does need to take a more central role in his plans from here on in.

Omer Riza needs to start Chris Willock more often for Cardiff City given Stoke City performance

Supporters have been questioning why Willock hasn't been starting for a few weeks now, and his performance against the Potters most certainly vindicated that school of thought.

He's one of few genuine flair players at Riza's disposal and needs a consistent run of games to show what he can do in a Cardiff shirt, and the Bluebirds are undoubtedly yet to see the best of him.

Smooth and elegant in possession, Willock's agility and close control make him a tricky customer for opposition defenders, who often struggle to nullify him when drifting inside from the left-hand side of the pitch.

He's also highly creative and has the forward passing quality to break lines and find gaps - only Rubin Colwill, Alex Robertson and Joe Ralls have created more chances per 90 minutes than Willock's 1.5, and the latter two both take corners.

Willock has played just 780 minutes of league football for Cardiff, which equates to just 37 minutes per match across the side's 21 matches in the Championship, and one does have to wonder if the Bluebirds are, quite simply, good enough to be frequently leaving out an operator of the former Arsenal prospect's proven pedigree and quality.

He has often been snubbed in favour of Yakou Meite, who is considerably less popular with supporters and has scored three league goals from 54 games for Cardiff since his arrival from Reading last summer.

Ollie Tanner has often received the nod over Willock too, and while the significant increase in the 22-year-old's game-time this season is perhaps more justifiable in the eyes of supporters, his absence through injury until the new year ought to open the door for Willock and afford him ample time to stamp down his authority on this team.

Willock's versatility gives Cardiff multiple options, as he can also play as a number 10 and may just be entrusted to do so considering that Colwill has stagnated in recent weeks.

Make no mistake about it, Cardiff are in a relegation battle for the remainder of the season and their fortunes are not appearing necessarily favourable either, but more performances of that ilk from Willock could go on to make a huge difference and Riza needs to keep that in mind.