A second successive 3-1 defeat to a team in the Championship's top two saw Burton Albion slip further adrift in the race for second-tier safety.
It did not always look like it would be that way in an entertaining first half, with Darren Bent notching his first Brewers goal and other chances falling by the wayside as Albion went toe-to-toe with Cardiff City.
But Nathaniel Mendez-Laing's goal on the stroke of half-time - which made the game 2-1 following Kenneth Zohore's opener and Bent's leveller - changed the tide of the match, and Neil Warnock's side were well on top for the second 45.
Callum Paterson's emphatic finish made sure of three valuable points for the promotion chasers, while Barnsley's draw with Bristol City sees the Brewers drop four points away from the safety line.
Had it not been for Bristol City's last-gasp equaliser at Oakwell, the gap would have been bigger.
One of the Brewers' four changes at the Cardiff City Stadium saw Bent come back into the starting XI to begin a game with Liam Boyce for only the second time.
Boyce was stationed just behind the Derby County loanee, and the early signs were good as Albion threatened from the whistle, with Boyce seeing a goalbound header from Jamie Allen's free-kick cleared away.
Luke Murphy then missed the target from 18 yards, with Burton's high tempo catching the Bluebirds a little cold.
But there is a reason that Neil Warnock's side are pushing for automatic promotion - and they showed that with their first sniff of goal.
The impressive Junior Hoilett got in behind John Brayford on Cardiff's left flank and drilled a ball into the box that the unmarked Zohore coolly converted home.
Albion rallied well, though, and they were soon level courtesy of Bent's first goal in a Burton Albion shirt.
It owed much to Lloyd Dyer, whose pace caused all sorts of problems for Bruno Ecuele Manga. Dyer latched onto Boyce's clever pass down the left and whipped a low cross for Bent to tuck past the stranded Neil Etheridge at the far post.
That meant it was Cardiff's time to respond, with Sean Morrison coming close on two occasions as he saw a header and a close-range effort saved by Stephen Bywater.
Bent's fellow Rams loanee Craig Bryson then failed to turn home a gilt-edged chance from Mendez-Laing's cross after he skipped past Bywater, racing out to claim a ball on the wing.
Despite the open goal, Bryson could not get his foot around the delivery and it skimmed wide.
There was the sense of a third goal coming before the break - and it was the Bluebirds who got it.
Tom Flanagan's pass upfield was cut out and then returned over his head, with Mendez-Laing racing onto it and thumping a finish into the roof of Bywater's net.
The Albion keeper may have come for it but decided to stay in his goal.
Even with that suckerpunch, the Brewers might have been level at the break if the lively Allen had done better from another cute Boyce pass.
Through on goal, the ex-Rochdale midfielder could only hit a tame shot at Etheridge.
So 2-1 it remained over the half-time oranges, and 3-1 it should have been within a minute of the restart.
Callum Paterson laid Zohore clean through on goal, with the opening goalscorer having the choice to go himself or square for the onrushing Mendez-Laing.
He chose the latter option, but his pass was casual, and Flanagan was able to get back and knock it behind for a corner.
Sol Bamba then thought he had the hosts two goals in front, only to see the flag raised as he headed past Bywater from close range.
Another Cardiff goal was disallowed soon after for an infringement on Bywater in the box, as Warnock's cranked up the pressure.
There was to be no third reprieve, though, when Hoilett escaped down the left again.
His initial cross was miscontrolled by Bryson, but the ball fell kindly for Paterson to slam home, despite the protests from Burton players for a handball.
It could have been more had Naylor not deflected a fizzing Hoilett shot inches wide moments later.
And Albion, growing shakier at the back as the game wore, avoided further damage in comical fashion when Bywater tried to lob a pass to Naylor over Gary Madine.
Madine charged it down but was unable to control the looped deflection to finish the game off completely.
The Brewers belatedly threatened a response when Bent cannoned an effort into the shins of Joe Bennett at the near post from a corner.
When Flanagan got on the end of Dyer's short pass and broke into the box late on, his ball across goal was met by nobody but Cardiff keeper Etheridge.
Bywater was in action at the other end to deny Madine in stoppage time. Nothing, though, could deny Warnock's side their eighth successive League win on what looks to be an inexorable march to the top flight.
Clough's Brewers, meanwhile, must again dust themselves down after a game that began well but petered out into a poor second-half display. Another promotion chaser lies in wait on Monday.
