Coventry 0-1 Norwich: Ben Lee Canaries tactical analysis

Ben is a City season ticket holder and author of the NCFC Analysis social media account, who unpicks games with an analytical report highlighting tactical strengths and weaknesses.

This is what Ben made of a first competitive league victory for Johannes Hoff Thorup.

Coventry Vs Norwich: Breaking the Lines

Score: 0 – 1

Possession (%): 43 – 57

Passes: 418 – 560

Shots: 14 – 9

xG: 1.15 – 0.40

• Disjointed pendulum press.
• Midfielders not for turning.
• Sensible substitutions.
• Pressing adjustments.

Base Formations:

After a promising performance but a disappointing result against Crystal Palace, Johannes Hoff Thorup’s side made the trip to the West Midlands to face Mark Robins’ Coventry.

The hosts set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, while Norwich lined up in their usual 4-3-3, as both managers named unchanged elevens following their last league outings.

(Image: Ben Lee)

During Norwich goal-kicks, the visitor’s build-up structure saw the full-backs advance in the wide areas, as Forson (18) moved behind the first line of pressure in the left half-space.

Coventry transitioned between a 4-2-3-1 and a 4-2-4 pressing structure when Rudoni (5) joined Simms (9) up front. The Sky Blues rarely applied pressure in Norwich’s box, instead waiting for the visitors to advance while blocking early progression.

(Image: Ben Lee)

Once Norwich played out, Forson (18) advanced in the left half-space, Stacey (3) moved into the last line on the right, and Chrisene (14) inverted alongside McLean (23), creating City’s 2-3-2-3 shape.

Coventry’s situational front two attempted a ‘pendulum press’ with only one player at a time pressing from the front while the other stayed tight to McLean (23), thus creating a 4-2-3-1 structure. The ‘pendulum’ motion appeared as the front two switched pressing roles.

(Image: Ben Lee)

But the dynamics of the Sky Blues’ press were off, and the structure became disjointed when players were late to apply pressure to their man, leaving Norwich players free.

In the visitor’s initial build-up phases, with Forson (18) still deep and Chrisene (14) wide, the Coventry wingers were often caught between the wide centre-midfielders and the full-backs. The ‘pendulum’ motion also saw McLean (23) become free when a forward was late to press.

(Image: Ben Lee)

Similar issues continued when Norwich advanced beyond their deepest build-up phases, as Coventry’s passivity allowed Thorup’s men an easy escape.

With McLean (23) receiving before being pressed by Rudoni (5), for example, Haji Wright (11) backed away on the far side to prevent progression towards Crnac (17) in the half-space, but left Nunez (26) free to receive and find Stacey (3) out wide.

(Image: Ben Lee)

When Stacey (3) returned the ball to Nunez (26) the disjointed nature of Coventry’s press became even more obvious, as Simms (9) stood aimlessly between the centre-backs while Rudoni (5) allowed McLean (23) to receive the ball unchallenged.

These issues were compounded by Sakamoto’s (7) decision to leave Chrisene (14) free to close down McLean (23) – a player who was already being marked, albeit poorly.

(Image: Ben Lee)

Norwich repeatedly exploited the space in the second line of Coventry’s press; indeed, when the visitors played out to Stacey (3) later in the first half, Rudoni (5) was, yet again, slow to close down Nunez (26), leaving him free to receive a bounce pass from Crnac (17).

With Sakamoto (7) jumping to press McLean (23), and Nunez (26) given far too much time on the ball, City’s Chilean midfielder found Chrisene (14) unoccupied, inverting from the left.

(Image: Ben Lee)

While the initial phases of Norwich’s build-up effectively exploited Coventry’s press, the connection with the Canaries’ last line was suboptimal in the first half.

In settled phases of possession, Thorup’s men created a 2-3-5 structure against the host’s 4-2-3-1 mid-block, as Stacey (3) advanced into the last line while Crnac (17) and Chrisene (14) inverted in their respective right wing and left-back positions.

(Image: Ben Lee)

To access space between the lines – which remains a significant aim within Thorup’s system – players occupying the half spaces need to be able to receive passes on the half-turn before running at the opponent’s back line or playing to the feet of the centre-forward or wingers.

In the first half, Forson (18) either received passes with his back to goal or, when attempting to receive on the half-turn, would take a heavy touch and lose possession. Crnac (17) was responsible for allowing similar turnovers in dangerous areas on the opposite side.

(Image: Ben Lee)

As a result, Thorup took the opportunity at half-time to replace Forson (18) and Crnac (17) with two further summer signings in Anis Ben Slimane (20) and Oscar Schwartau (29).

The former Brondby duo facilitated control and enhanced the connection between the initial and final lines of Norwich’s build-up, with Slimane (20) advancing into the left half space from centre-midfield and Schwartau (29) inverting into the right half-space from the right wing.

(Image: Ben Lee)

With Coventry in possession, during goal-kicks, Mark Robins’ men set up in a 4-2-3-1 shape with a double pivot of Torp (29) and Eccles (28). In response, Norwich pressed from their usual 4-3-3, with Sainz (7) and Crnac (17) on either side of Sargent (9) in the first line of pressure.

(Image: Ben Lee)

The hosts often played over the initial lines of Norwich’s press, but when they played out from the back, Sainz (7) and Crnac (17) pressed the centre-backs while Sargent (9) remained in the space between the double pivot.

Instead of playing out centrally and attempting to exploit this 2v1 by increasing the distance for Sargent (9) to cover between the pivots, Dovin (1) chipped the ball out wide to Bidwell (21).

(Image: Ben Lee)

This triggered the second phase of Norwich’s press, as Sargent (9) tracked the ball-side pivot, Nunez (26) jumped out wide to press the left-back, McLean (23) tracked Rudoni (5), and Forson (18) stayed close to the far-side pivot.

(Image: Ben Lee)

Beyond these high pressing phases, Norwich dropped into a 4-2-3-1 mid-press, with the visitors completing more effective patterns than their hosts despite the comparable structures.

When Coventry played out to the left, for example, Sargent (9) pressed Binks (2), Crnac (17) jumped onto the left-back, Forson (18) occupied the ball-side pivot, and Sainz (7) was ready to press the far-side pivot or centre-back – this limited the creation of a free man on the ball-side.

(Image: Ben Lee)

In settled phases of possession, Coventry created a fluid build-up structure beginning with an expansive 4-3-3 shape as Torp (29) advanced into the right half-space, Rudoni (5) shifted over to the left, and Norwich dropped into a 4-5-1 mid-block.

(Image: Ben Lee)

When they advanced towards the final third, Coventry’s settled-play structure became even more expansive as Bidwell (21) overlapped out wide on the left, often creating a fluid 3-1-6 structure as Van Ewijk (27) tended to stay deeper on the right.

(Image: Ben Lee)

The second half didn’t just involve personnel changes, as Norwich returned to the same 4-3-3 mid-press they employed at the start of the season following the half-time introductions of Slimane (20) and Schwartau (29).

(Image: Ben Lee)

Once Norwich took the lead early in the second half, Coventry also changed their approach out of possession as the Sky Blues pressed with more aggression, going man-to-man in their highest pressing phases.

(Image: Ben Lee)

This adjustment wasn’t enough for Coventry to draw level with Thorup’s men, as Norwich left the West Midlands with their first league win of the Dane’s tenure.

Despite not creating an abundance of high-quality chances, there were more signs of progress from the visitors, particularly in the second half when Slimane (20) and Schwartau (29) improved access to the space between the lines.

With an international break upon us, Thorup now has time with his players to iron out some of the technical weaknesses on show in the first half on Saturday.