Norwich City vs. Cardiff City Video Analysis 11.11.2023

 Fixture: Norwich City (H) vs. Cardiff City (A) | Matchday 16

Analyst: Stephan Ko | stephan.dhko@gmail.com

This report includes a near minute-by-minute video analysis of Norwich City vs. Cardiff City. I have included screenshots because I don’t own the video but timestamps are provided if access to real footage is available. Highlighted sections indicate tactics or patterns of play. This report is written from the perspective of finding solutions for Norwich City so problem areas are shown in red while positive plays are shown in green. 

* Please view this on a computer or tablet *

First Half

0:00 | Cardiff starts with a long ball on kick-off. Possibly suggests a pragmatic approach. 

1:24 | Pass from GK Long back to Batth is long and goes out. Not entirely keeper fault. Body position from Norwich defenders is not great when receiving passes in the back. Series of errors leads to this scenario: 

1. RCB Warner doesn’t open his body up using his backfoot → forces the pass back to Batth. Warner should pivot his body so he has more passing options and a better view of the play. He’s also right-footed so this should be natural. 

2. LCB Batth also doesn’t open up his body to receive the pass. Ideally he should receive with his left foot so he is better positioned to respond to opposition press and have a better view of the field but since Batth is right-footed this is more natural and plays to his strengths. The only problem is that he plays it back to the GK in this scenario. If he opened up and received on his left, he would have 3 potential options: the pass back to the GK, LB, or CM zones. 

3. GK Long is forced to play it out to the side and unfortunately it’s overhit. Not the worse decision given the situation. 

1:40 | Good play by Cardiff and good defending by Norwich

1:59 | Good break from the right wing by Fassnacht. Plays it into the box but it gets blocked. Tough ball to play through given the Cardiff defense positioning. Perhaps an earlier ball towards Hwang or a pick out for Rowe’s late run to the edge of the box would’ve maximized the threat. Fassnacht does well to keep his head up during this run so this pickout is doable. 

2:15 | Batth loses out on a long ball over the top from Cardiff. Placheta does well to cover up. The aerial duels with Meite will be important. 

2:22 | Warner plays the ball into Batth and again. Batth should not be receiving the ball with his back turned like that. He chooses to do a 180 degree turn. Here is his turn:

1. There is no reason to slow play down with a turn like that in this area of the field. 

2:52 | Good diagonal ball from Warner to find Placheta’s run. Unlucky for it to not develop further. Good direct play. 

3:21 | Good press from Placheta after seeing a hard to control pass from Cardiff towards Bowler. Good foul. 

3:55 | Clever throw-in routine from Norwich. Good one touch play by Sara. Fassnacht forces the ball towards Hwang and it gets intercepted. Could’ve been a better pass but Norwich’s gameplan seems to be quick and direct play through the wings towards goal. 

4:12 | Norwich seem like they’re in a mid-block of sorts but the second the ball is directed back to Cardiff’s RCB, Nunez and Hwang pounce on the press. This is a decent idea but the Cardiff defender threads a great pass to Ralls to beat the press. We can see this sequence here. Notice also how Ralls controls the ball with his back foot so he can better react to play while having a better view of the field: 

1. Press from Nunez and Hwang

2. Fassnacht was in-between pressing the LB or CM and Cardiff do well to find the free man

3. Good way to receive the ball from Ralls. Although this is a commonly drilled principle for midfielders, Norwich players need to be receiving some of their passes on the turn to improve the chance of their next pass/progressive move. 

5:00 | Batth loses the battle against Meite who gets a cross into the box. Good defending from Norwich.  

5:50 | Good save from Long

6:15 | Cardiff press with a front two to try and force Norwich wide. Lets look at this sequence here: 

1. Ball goes wide left to Batth. Again he receives it with his right foot but it’s not the biggest deal here. The game plan is to push Placheta high up anyways. Maybe Placheta’s left foot can be used closer to Norwich’s defensive line but the game plan is to push Placheta up high for his other strengths. 

2. Batth plays the ball into Nunez who takes it well. 

3. Decent ball back to the CB but the Cardiff press knows that its going back because there are no other viable options. The reason there are no options is because there is no movement after Batth releases his pass. For example, Batth should move wider towards the touch line and have Placheta push further up. This will drag Batth’s defender away allowing for an easier pass to the CB OR allow for a passing opportunity to Batth if his defender doesn’t follow him. And with Placheta’s movement, Batth will have the time necessary to make the next pass. But Norwich are too static and are just getting directed by Cardiff’s press. 

4. McLean tries to dribble it out from the back and loses it to give Cardiff a good chance. Sara does well to cover up the danger. Needs to read the situation better. Norwich like to press aggressively high up the pitch but haven’t grown into the game in the sense of building up from the back. 

6:57 |  Sara does well to find space and connect play with 1-2 touches. Hwang finds spaces where Sara left them. Good understanding. 

7:05 | Cardiff seem to be sniffing Batth out as a weak link in Norwich’s build up. Batth hasn’t had the greatest start to the game. He also hasn’t had a lot of game time but Cardiff are feeding off of his awkwardness playing on the left as a right-footed CB. Again he causes a turnover: 

1. In this scenario, Placheta should be calling for the ball because he can see where the free man is. It’s him and a free man in the CM position (McLean). 

2. Batth plays a high-risk low-reward pass to Nunez who doesn’t control it.  

7:11 | Warner does well to stop the Cardiff attack and launch an unlucky transition to attack. 

1. It’s a 3 vs. 4 situation if Warner finds the right pass. 

2. He plays it hard and fast to Hwang who can’t control it and loses the ball. Unlucky. It’s a good idea and it shows the intent behind Norwich trying to play quick and direct. That’s the game plan but in general, the passes seem to lack intention outside of being direct. Is Warner thinking where the next pass can be if I can give it to Hwang? Or is he just thinking of how quickly he can get it up the field to an offensive player? 

8:17 | Great pressing from Rowe to push Bowler out of bounds. We can see in the following clips how Rowe curves his run to negate Bowler of any passing options. Then Rowe is quick enough to hunt Bowler down: 

1. Loose ball heads to Bowler

2.  Rower starts to press and cuts off the passing angle back to bait Bowler to go towards the Norwich goal. → Rowe wins the ball back. 

 8:35 | Long ball towards Cardiff striker. Batth wins a good aerial duel. 

9:20 - 9:45 | Much better from Batth. Controlling the tempo and slowing down play. Finally opening up his body and playing at the right moment so Cardiff can’t press recklessly.

9:53 | Forwards tracking back to press the ball is working well. Here we see Nunez track back: 

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2. Nunez doesn’t win the ball but he cuts off the passing angle backwards and with the help of Rowe and Placheta, they pin Bowler who ends up making a mistake. 

10:02 | Sara makes a sloppy pass. Need to minimize mistakes like this, especially in the defensive third. 

1. Ball into Sara but he doesn’t scan. He has time and space but he panics and thinks he’s under pressure. 

2. Pass gets cut out. Doesn’t give Rowe a chance. 

10:30 | Norwich are pretty comfortable letting Cardiff have the ball. Unlike Cardiff who commit their top two to pressure Norwich’s CB pair, Norwich hold off initially and pounce if they smell a mistake. Good shape with numbers behind the ball while crowding the center: 

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10:40 | Cardiff beat Norwich’s press by finding the free man in midfield. This is the second or third time they have done this and every time it has been Ralls who finds himself free. Norwich needs to find a way to block this from happening. The sequence is as follows and can be seen below: CB → LB → CM. When Hwang or Nunez presses, they free up a Cardiff player in midfield so this is the player Cardiff aim to find. The pressing tempo and covering of the free man need to be better. 

1. Hwang presses and frees up Ralls. 

2. CB → LB

3. LB → CM (Ralls) It’s too easy to beat the press. This leads to a switch of play. If this happens multiple times, Cardiff will eventually find gaps between Norwich’s structure. 

11:00 | This is a better press by both Hwang and Nunez. The Cardiff CB knows the midfielders are free but can’t find a way to get it to them so the CB plays it long to turn possession over to Norwich. This is much better execution from the Norwich forwards. 

11:06, 11:12, 11:30 | Fisher does well to draw a foul but it’s interesting to see Fisher’s touch in both back-to-back sequences be directed towards the center circle. Even though Fisher is right footed, he doesn’t open his body up and look down the line towards Fassnacht. Instead he closes his body angle off and looks centrally. I’m not sure if this is a tactical instruction to attempt a certain passage of play but it seems to be a pattern that the Norwich back line (Fisher, Warner, and Batth) don’t open their body up in scenarios where there it can easily be done. 

1. 11:12 (11:06 is a pass back to Warner)

2. 11:30 Fisher opens his body up naturally and looks down the field. Eventually dribbles into an area packed with Norwich and Cardiff players before he is taken down. Questionable decision to dribble inward as opposed to down the line for a passing option. Good job to the get the foul nonetheless. 

12:12 | Good diagonal ball to the LW area for Placheta to chase. A bit too long. This seems to be one of the game plan scenarios. Play it direct to the LW area (Placheta, Rowe)

12:58 | Example of good receiving on the backfoot by Placheta. Even though he’s in a tight area, he opens up his body and can play out to Sara (who plays it out). 

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 13:40 | Warner → Long → Batth. Batth does well to let the ball roll across him. He’s opening up his body more.  

14:22 | Sara and Batth notice the Cardiff press becomes disjointed (the front two lose their positioning) and they cleverly beat the press. Batth is becoming more confident on the ball and this is helping Norwich. 

1. Disjointed Cardiff press, Sara makes a good run to find space

2. Batth finds Sara

15:30 | Again Batth chooses to receive a pass from Long by closing his body off and relying on his right foot. Not a problem in this case because the Cardiff press is not close enough. This isn’t ideal, however, because it communicates a pass to Warner or a long ball which are both easy to read. If he takes it on the backfoot, he has more options. He can even take it on the backfoot, chop it back and play it to Warner in the same amount of time he did at 15:30 but this additional nuance would keep the opposition at bay just a little bit more. 

15:34 | Warner does well to get the ball to Fisher but the Cardiff press is good and reads the pass. Can Warner play this ball a half tempo early? It’s a tough ball for Fisher to control and the tempo of the pass doesn’t give Fisher much time so he gets smothered quickly. Otherwise, Norwich do well to retain and cycle possession. 

16:14 | Good effort by Sara and decent push up by Norwich. Placheta beats his man and puts a hopeful ball in that could find a man on a good day. 

17:03 | Switch of play from left to right. Eventually gets to Fisher and again he takes a touch backward with his right foot. Is this intentional because Norwich want to target the left hand side more often? This doesnt seem to be the case because at 17:20, Norwich find Fassnacht on a decent run up the right wing through Fisher. Fisher needs to do more of that and it comes from opening his body. Fisher closes off his body when he can open up and provide a pass to Fassnacht. 

1. Pass back to Warner. This keeps possession but its easy to defend for Cardiff. 

Note: McLean and Sara are dropping back to help buildup while the fullbacks push up more aggressively. This is helping open up Cardiff and improve Norwich ball progression. 

18:32 | Norwich commit too many players to the right hand side with little to no pressure. This leads to a good switch of play from Cardiff to threaten Norwich. 

1. Hwang needs to press the ball but just tries to block the passing angle. However, Rowe and Nunez has already tucked in so there needs to be communication so that Hwang presses his man. Better communication and Norwich is in a good position to win the ball back here. 

2. The ball finds Bowler in plenty of space because Norwich press narrowly and Rowe has committed himself towards the middle in anticipation of Hwang’s press. Norwich defend the threat. *This is a weakness in their pressing plan that Cardiff are exploiting. 

18:55 | Hwang needs to be more positional aware OR he and the teammates around him need to communicate more. We see Hwang press erratically. Before we saw Hwang not press when he needed to. This disconnect needs to be addressed. 

1. Hwang and Nunez do well to chase the ball back. However, Cardiff’s two midfielders are in acres of space. 

2. The ball gets played to Cardiff’s LB and still, the two Cardiff midfielders are free. The Norwich midfield needs to tighten up but they are too focused on the long ball beyond the back line. If that’s the case, then Hwang and Nunez shouldn’t have jumped. Norwich need to be on the same page between the front two and the rest of the team. 

3. The Cardiff LB plays it up and the Norwich backline do well to pounce on the pass. However, the Cardiff midfielders are still free. 

4. AND eventually Ralls gets the ball. Unlucky tackle by the Norwich defender but in another scenario, the ball gets played to Ralls with a one-touch pass. Overall, when Norwich’s press is not well timed, Cardiff’s midfield duo of Siopis and Ralls are way too open. 

19:38 | The long ball to Placheta on the LW space is played again from the backline. This is clearly a pattern of play designed for this match and it’s effective. Even without a goal, it causes Cardiff to run a lot.

1. Long ball to Placheta

 

2. Placheta → Rowe. Rowe then drives in and plays a decent cutback. Intercepted by a Cardiff defender but good play from Placheta and Rowe. 

20:24 | Good pressing by Nunez to force a long ball. This is easier to defend than having Cardiff build out on the ground. The well timed high press is working. 

1. Press by Nunez forces the long ball from Cardiff CB

2. Norwich win the aerial duel and regain possession

20:30 | Decent chance by Sara. Rowe plays the early direct ball to Hwang even though he has Sara as an option. This seems like a tactical instruction again to play it direct and quick but I wonder if using Sara in this case would have been the better option. 

1. Rowe sees both Sara and Hwang as options

2. Rowe finds Hwang well. 

3. Hwang finds Sara at the edge of the box. Good shot blocked. 

Goal | Norwich 1 - 0 Cardiff

22:10 | Scores at the first corner of the game. Fassnacht goal. 

1. Great corner and good flick on

2. Good positioning at the back post. Tap in. 

Note: With Norwich the first to score, Cardiff are forced to be more forward thinking. Norwich, however, don’t take a backseat and continue to press high up right after kick off. 

22:34 | Fassnacht does well to mark his man. However, positionally, Cardiff’s CM (Ralls) is always free in his pocket. The ball could’ve easily gone to Ralls and Cardiff would have the opportunity to attack again. 

1. Ball goes to Cardiff LB (Collins) and Fassnacht pressures. 

2. Cardiff LB (Collins) could easily have laid it off to his CM (Ralls) but chooses not to. Norwich are off the hook here but Ralls should not be allowed to have this much space. 

22:55 | Again the ball gets to Ralls and he dictates two plays back to back. He sends the ball down the left channel which gets defended by a well organized Norwich. Again Ralls is a bit too easy to peel off and find space but it is well defended. Question is, is it worth it in the end to hold a defensive shape and let Ralls dictate play if Norwich have players behind the ball?

23:47 | Fisher turns over a throw-in. This should not happen. 

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24:06 | Again we see the limitations of Batth, a right footed defender, playing LCB. Cardiff are able to take advantage of Batth’s reliance on his right foot and corner Norwich. 

1. Warner passes to Batth who again does not receive on the backfoot but chooses to trap it with his right foot. This triggers a Cardiff press. 

2. Batth plays a ball back to Long. 

3. Fisher is the free man (from Pic 2) but Long opts to go back to Batth. Perhaps this is because he is more experienced than the young RB (Fisher). 

4. Batth gets the ball and is facing the Cardiff press. He opts to now use his left foot to find a risky ball into the middle of the park where the Cardiff press intercepts the pass. Luckily this bounces off of the Cardiff midfielder and Norwich regain possession. However, Batth’s over reliance to shift onto his dominant right foot as the LCB is causing problems for Norwich building out of the back. At the very least don’t project the intention of the pass so explicitly. 

24:27 | Rowe finds Fisher in open space but Fisher is reluctant to be positive and attack. This unwillingness to look forward is a concerning pattern for Fisher so far. 

1. Rowe passes to Fisher who has room in front of him. 

2. Rowe cuts back and passes the ball back. There is no pressure on Fisher. Is this to control the game? It’s fine because Norwich are leading but it’s not a great pattern to see Fisher not look up the line more. 

24:55 | Norwich tries to build out through the center but again Cardiff crowds the midfield and wins it back. 

25:08 | *Good play from Cardiff but a problematic problem for Norwich* Cardiff shows good movement through Bowler. This drags LB Placheta out of position forcing McLean to cover as part of the back line. This leaves space in the midfield for Cardiff to exploit. Great buildup from Cardiff because they sense that neither Nunez or Hwang is pressing them and Rowe (LW) is too narrow to mark Cardiff RB (Romeo) who is free. Usually, Cardiff fullbacks were pushed higher and the press of Nunez and Hwang was able to force the Cardiff passing to one side of the pitch. This allowed the Norwich players to shift left and right in anticipation of the Cardiff press while also having the Norwich wingers close to the Cardiff fullbacks. In this sequence, we see the Cardiff RB (Romeo) break free from this pattern and help the Cardiff build up by dropping deeper to receive the ball: 

1. Hwang and Nunez don’t press the Cardiff CBs. The Cardiff center midfielders are well marked so this leaves the CB two options: go long or play a ball wide to the full backs. Romeo drops deep to receive. 

2. The Norwich defensive unit is narrow. Cardiff RB Romeo dropped back but Norwich LW Rowe does not follow him because this will break the defensive structure. Behind Rowe, we see the Cardiff RW (Bowler) tuck inside causing the Norwich LB Placheta to get dragged out of position. Great movement by Bowler. The Cardiff CB plays the ball to an open Cardiff RB (Romeo). 

3. Since Placheta is out of position and Rowe is narrow, the right hand side for the Cardiff RB Romeo is easy to exploit. He finds a good pass to the Cardiff striker who is now tussling with Batth who slides over to cover. In this scenario, Placheta should have communicated to Rowe to either push up and press Romeo or to check his shoulder to see Bowler and mark him. Bowler’s movement, again, is extremely sharp and dictates this play. The Bowler-Placheta duel is central to the game plan of both sides. 

4. McLean shifts over from center midfield to cover the LCB zone left open as Batth shifts towards the left hand sideline. Thi sleeves the center of midfield open and Cardiff FW (Meite) finds Cardiff RW (Bowler) who has pinched inside and spotted the open space. 

5. Bowler makes a good switch of play to the Cardiff LW. This is a good attacking sequence and now the Norwich fullback is isolated with the Cardiff winger, with the Cardiff fullback steaming up to provide support. Norwich’s defensive structure is still solid but Cardiff are doing well to try and stretch them as they move up the field. 

6. Cardiff LW puts a low cross into the box that is well blocked. 

25:45 | Rowe is rapid on the counter attack but gets stopped by a well timed Cardiff tackle. 

26:08 | McLean and Sara dropping deep not only helps with build up but allows for long direct balls to the wide areas where Norwich can overload with their wingers and fullbacks. 

1. McLean and Sara drop into the CB zones. This pushes Warner and Batth wide as well as Fisher and Placheta higher up the field. 

2. McLean threads a pass between the lines to Rowe. Great pass both in terms of vision and packing. We need more of this from the back line, whether it’s through the CMs dropping deep or balls from the CBs. 

3. Rowe finds Placheta wide left but he fumbles the ball. Goes out for a throw in. Poor pass and a bad touch but good decision making by the team. Norwich are growing into the game and gaining confidence. 

26:54 | A long diagonal ball to Bowler creates a good chance for Cardiff. Forcing Cardiff into long balls has been working so far but in this instance, the quality on the long ball is exquisite and allows for a chance at goal for Cardiff. The quality of pass for Cardiff’s CBs isn’t always this good so it seems that Norwich’s plan of forcing Cardiff long is a safe option but this is something to contemplate over half-time. 

Note: Again, it’s the Bowler-Placheta duel and this time, Bowler beats his opposite number. This sequence also leads to a potential penalty that isn’t called. Norwich are lucky. 

1. Hwang and Nunez don’t press allowing the Cardiff CB to pick his head up and spot a pass. 

2. Cardiff CB finds a beautiful pass towards the Cardif RW (Bowler) and the Norwich LB Placheta fails to head it away, allowing Bowler to get the second ball. 

3. Bowler is away and has a shot on goal but Placheta tackles him from behind. Norwich are lucky to not see a penalty given for Cardiff

28:36 | The McLean → Rowe → Placheta link up seems to be a well-oild sequence as we see it again here: 

1. McLean finds Rowe who has pinched inside. 

2. Rowe plays a one-touch pass into Placheta out wide

3. Placheta plays the ball back to McLean

4. McLean makes a wonderful diagonal switch of play to the Norwich RW (Fisher has pushed up to fill this role). Unfortunately loses the ball but good play up until that point.  

29:19 | Cardiff LW (Grant) makes a great run in behind Fisher’s blind side. Norwich need to communicate better here. This is a good run from Cardiff but Warner can shout at Fisher and/or cover for him if Fisher loses the man. Neither happens. Good chance by Cardiff but Norwich have more men behind the ball with good structure and with a bit of luck they defend the attack. Players need to communicate to cover each others blind spots, particularly for Norwich fullbacks who are susceptible to runs in behind from Cardiff players when the ball is switched quickly. 

1. Cardiff LB (Collins) finds the good run of Cardiff LW (Grant). 

2. Cardiff LW (Grant) fires a good cross into the box it’s not accurate and no one is there to capitalize. Bowler keeps the ball in play and gets a low-chance shot on goal but it is blocked by Norwich GK Long. 

30:21 | Again we see the limitations of Batth relying on his right foot. It doesn’t create good passing angles and makes it easy for the Cardiff press. 

1. Batth doesn’t receive on his backfoot, ignoring Placheta who should be an option. Instead Batth goes for the pass to McLean. 

2. This is a tough place for him to pivot 180 degrees but he finds the free pass to GK Long. One thing to note here is that Long is static as he receives the pass and takes a while to find Warner out right. Needless time to make simple decisions and non-optimal ways to receive the ball draw in more pressure and makes it harder for the teammate who receives the next pass. It doesn’t amount to anything in this scenario but it is a constant pattern where some players seem to play a half tempo late. 

30:37 | Great read by Fisher. 

1. Fisher gets the ball and sees Sara has dragged his man ahead of Fisher up the right wing. Fisher has shown in the first 30 minutes that he likes to chop in on his right foot and he does so again but this time, it’s a very good decision because Sara has dragged the Cardiff central midfielder and the middle of the pitch is open space for Fisher to exploit. 

2. Fisher finds McLean who has good vision. 

3. Great switch of play from McLean who finds Rowe isolated on the LW. Placheta bursts forward in support. This all comes from Fisher making use of Sara’s run and disrupting Cardiff’s defensive shape. 

4. Rowe finds Placheta’s underlapping run. Placheta cuts it back but its a tough ball for Hwang who can’t get it into the net. This is good play and great build up, just lacking a little bit of accuracy in the final pass. 

32:55 | Good battle between Placheta and Bowler again. This time, Placheta wins the duel and draws a foul. 

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33:03 | A quick free kick ball out to Grant frees up the Cardiff winger and allows for an opportunity as Norwich is not fully organized after the foul call. 

1. Quick pass into Cardiff LW (Grant). Notice how Placheta has to recover and how disorganized Norwich’s defense is. Norwich, however, still have numerical superiority. 

2. Again the Cardiff winger is able to get a low cross into the box but Norwich defend it well. Norwich again defend with numbers and are solid. 

33:30 | A scrappy play leads to a Cardiff shot on goal but it’s wide. These types of plays are fine to a degree as they force low-chance shots. It’s outside of the box and Norwich have players in between the shooter and the goal. 

35:34 | Good striker’s instinct from Hwang. 

1. The ball gets cleared up the field by Norwich to alleviate pressure and to buy time for Batth to come back on. He has to stay off the field for 30 seconds while he receives medical attention. 

2. Hwang does well to sniff out the situation and get himself in a scoring chance. Unfortunately, it runs too long and he loses the ball. Good instinct to try and capitalize there. Even though he doesn’t materialize a chance, he pushes Cardiff further back to ensure that Batth can come back. 

35:50 | Placheta loses a duel with Meite. Meite sprays a pass to Grant on the LW who drives forward and fires a shot. Not ideal from Placheta but Norwich have players behind the ball and force a low chance shot from Grant. 

36:50 | Another good ball long to Rowe who comes into the inside left channel. He lays it off to Nunez but gets fouled in the process. Again, this pattern of Placheta (or in this case, Nunez) keeping width and/or pushing up with Rowe coming inside is allowing passing angles to progress up the left hand side for Norwich. 

37:53 | Again, there is an attack down Cardiff’s left hand side. In contrast to how Cardiff attack on the right where Bowler moves laterally along the pitch to find space, most of the attacks on Cardiff’s left side are vertical where Grant hugs the sideline. Here we see another instance of this. Grant does very well and is growing into the game. From Norwich’s perspective, Fisher needs to switch his game quickly to block Grant. 

1. Pass from Collins into Grant. 

2. Grant does well to let the ball roll across his body. This takes out Fisher. Warner covers to block the attack but Grant is a constant danger. 

Goal | Norwich 1 - 1 Cardiff 

38:04 | Quick execution of a throw-in leads to a Cardiff goal. This is the second instance of Cardiff starting a set-piece quickly and catching Norwich on the backfoot with a disjointed defensive structure. This has to be addressed. 

1. Throw into Robinson who does well to control, turn, and feed a cross towards the back post. 

2. Bowler sees the space to make the run and find the back of the net. Norwich need to communicate here. They have enough players behind the ball (6 vs. 4) to defend the attack but Norwich panic and fail to communicate becaus Cardiff play it early. 

40:20 | Cardiff look much more comfortable and sharper after the equalizer. 

40:51 | Cardiff take advantage of another mistimed Norwich press.

1. Hwang presses the keeper but the rest of the team is not tightly positioned around a Cardiff player. They are either planning to pounce once the pass is played OR anticipating a long ball from the GK. Hwang’s run is not curve as to cover a passing lane (most strikingly to Siopis in the 6 position) and so Sara pushes up. 

2. Sara is not split between the two Cardiff CMs Siopis and Ralls and decides to mark Ralls.

3. Because the Norwich players commit high up the pitch and get out of their defensive shape but are also not pressing with the right tempo, this gives the Cardiff GK time to make the pass and space to play it into the center of midfield where Robinson can easily get the ball. This is lazy pressing from Norwich and there needs to be more communication and awareness of team positioning. If the team needs an intense press to try and score before halftime then this needs to happen as a unit. There is too much casual pressing and space for Cardiff to exploit. 

Goal | Norwich 1 - 2 Cardiff

42:21 | Norwich started off very well, with a narrow and disciplined defensive structure. However, we are seeing Robinson drop deeper to help closer to Cardiff CMs Siopsis and Ralls. Because Nunez and Hwang are focused on pressing the two CBs, this leaves Sara and McLean outnumbered in midfield. If Nunez and Hwang allow the Cardiff CBs time on the ball, they are able to find passes centrally because of this overload. Robinson’s presence can also drag out a CB from Norwich’s back line which also gives the option of a long ball to the strong Cardiff target man Meite. This is another problem Norwich need to address at half time. 

1. Cardiff forward Robinson drops deeper. This drags Norwich CM Sara away to allow for a direct pass into the Cardiff striker Meite. 

2. Theres a good challenge but the ball bounces to Robinson who looks up to see an overload high up on the left hand side. He plays the ball to Cardiff LW Grant. 

3. Grant uses the overload and plays the ball into his overlapping fullback Romeo. 

4. Cardiff LB Romeo lifts in a good cross and this is finished off by Cardiff forward Robinson at the back post. Again, the Cardiff attack comes from a shift out wide and cross aimed at the back post. Even though Norwich have numerical superiority in the box, the cross is good and Robinson wins the ball

Note:  Norwich need to stay more compact so that these switches of play don’t come through the middle. Even if Cardiff are able to switch the ball from side to side, if these happen by going backwards through the CBs or via long cross field balls in the air, it is much easier to keep defensive structure and anticipate the attack. 

44:41 | Scrappy but decent positive attempt from Norwich by going direct towards their strikers. Eventually they win a corner, which is how they scored the first goal. 

45:00 | Good corner and a decent shot from Fisher as it falls to him on the edge of the box. 

1. Fisher makes a good shot but Hwang can’t get out of the way. 

45:00 + ET | The passing discipline between the two Cardiff CBs shows the difference in tempo by receiving on the backfoot and opening up your body. This isn’t necessary persay but it does allow for better passing angles and control from Cardiff. 

1. Cardiff RCB Goutas receives the ball from LCB McGuinness on his backfoot (right) 

2. Goutas plays it back to McGuiness who receives it on his backfoot (left). He now has a better view of the field and good passing angles to play with his left foot. Contrast this to the examples with Batth above. Neither are bad persay but Batth’s tendencies seem to make him more susceptible to the Cardiff press. 

45:00 + ET | Again we see how much more threatening Cardiff are when they make a switch of play and go through the midfield. Norwich need to stop this from happening, whether its by staying narrower or overloading the press onto one side to win the ball back before the switch is played. 

1. Cardiff forward Robinson drops deep into midfield and receives the ball unmarked. 

2. Robinson finds Cardiff RW Bowler unmarked on the right. 

3. Bowler gets a goot shot off but it’s blocked by GK Long. 

Second Half 

Norwich Substitutions: Dimitris Giannoulis [IN], Jack Stacey [IN], Przemysław Płacheta [OUT], Kellen Fisher [OUT]

45:30 | Better organized press by Norwich 

45:43 | Cardiff have a decent chance but the last throughball is taken by GK Long

46:15 | Already, Jack Stacey looks a lot more positive and looks to go forwards in the RB position for Norwich. 

46:57 | Norwich starting aggressive and positive, committing more players up the pitch than most of the attacking plays in the first half. 

47:04 | Norwich are taking more risks. The game plan seems to be to double down on penetrating runs from the wide players. 

1. The snapshot below shows how Batth is the only player staying back. McLean and Sara drop deep to help progression which is just as effective as the second half. The two fullbacks who are substituted are pushed very high and wide to stretch Cardiff as much as possible. 

2. McLean lays the ball off to Sara and we see the LB substitute Giannoulis prepare for a run. 

3. Sara instead finds Rowe but the intent to run in behind is clear. 

47:15 | Even Nunez drops deep to help link play. Norwich are a lot more fluid in the second half. Having the defenders split wide allows the CMs Sara and McLean (and sometimes Nunez) to dictate play centrally and plug holes. Meanwhile, the left and right fullbacks are instructed to stay wide and high which allows the wingers to tuck in and occupy the inside channels. In this snapshot we see Hwang is the lone striker. 

48:00 | Norwich are very aggressive with their press, committing players almost man-to-man high up the pitch. This forces Cardiff long. How long can Norwich keep this pressure up?

48:25 | Robinson continues by dropping behind the stiker Meite to be the creative link for Cardiff and a thorn in Norwich’s side. He acts as the lynch pin for switching the point of attack: 

1. Robinson finds space in the #10 area

2. Robinson receives the ball on the turn. 

3. Robinson switches the ball to the Cardiff RW Bowler

4. Bowler finds Cardiff RB Romeo’s underlapping run. Romeo cuts a cross back that is intercepted.

49:30 | Nunez again drops deeper to help link play. It’s a lot better in terms of ball movement from Norwich.  

49:44 | Norwich tactical chances are working. Lets look at this sequence: 

1. McLean gets the ball in midfield and sees Rowe asking for the ball. We also notice Norwich LB Giannoulis make a run. 

2. McLean finds Rowe who now has the option to drive at his man or play Giannoulis. 

3. Rowe decides to go himself and cuts in to find Nunez at the edge of the box. Good run from Giannoulis to draw players away from his run and good pick out by Rowe. 

4. Scuffle in the box. The ball falls to Fassnacht but the shot is blocked. 

Note: The substitutions and tactical chances by Norwich are effective. From a positional sense, the high and wide fullbacks allows LW Rowe and RW Fassnacht to tuck in to either create more or take shots on goal. Allowing the danger players to roam around closer to the goal is a good change from Wagner and Norwich. Nunez is also very capable of dropping deeper to be more creative so this works well. 

51:15 | Giannoulis does well to help snuff the Cardiff counterattack. It was a good choice to sub in fresh fullbacks. The Cardiff wide players are probably feeling a bit tired. 

Note: In terms of Norwich’s pressing structure, not much has changed. Nunez and Hwang still press as a front two and try and force the long balls. Nunez is a work-horse. 

56:30 | Stacey’s experience makes the difference in the RB position. 

1. Nunez and Hwang press high up and force the Cardiff GK to make a long ball out to the LB Romeo. 

2. Norwich RB Stacey notices the heavy touch by Romeo and pounces on the ball. This is crucial because Norwich have committed players up the field and if Romeo is able to find a good progressive ball, Norwich are in trouble. The pressure forces Romeo to kick it out for a throw-in and now Norwich are able to drop deeper and reset their structure. The experience shows in that Stacey knows he has to either regain possession or stop the play. Decision making is really good. 

57:40 | The long balls to Hwang are a low-chance pass because Hwang is not as good in the air as the Cardiff CBs. This plays into Cardiff’s advantage because if they press aggressively, they increase their chance of winning the ball back either through the press itself or off of winning the long ball clearance. 

58:07 | Norwich structure is a lot more fluid now. The two hall marks are height and wide fullbacks to pin back Cardiff’s back four with Hwang staying up top. Though they generally keep their positions, Rowe, Nunez, Fassnacht are given license to interchange an crowd the midfield if necessary. We can see this below: 

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58:08 | Cardiff hurt Norwich by threading passes between the press. 

1. The Cardiff CMs find Robinson who has once again dropped deeper to get the ball. 

2. Robinson turns well and frees Cardiff’s LW Grant. Norwich are vulnerable to Cardiff’s breaks via the wings because they have committed their fullbacks high and chosen to compact the center of the field. Cardiff does well to exploit this. Both Grant and Robinson have had a good game for Cardiff so far. Norwich GK Long does well to block a 1v1 chance with Grant. Norwich get lucky and GK Long makes a phenomenal save. 

59:30 | Robinson falls after a knock and Hwang kicks the ball out. Good sportsmanship. 

61:30 | Good interchange between Hwang, Nunez, and Rowe. Eventually goes out for a corner. 

62:20 | Giannoulis slows the play down after a Norwich corner kick to allow Batth and Warner to reset their positions. Then he lays it off and looks to run down the wing again. Good instance of controlling the game and sticking to the game plan as well as mature play from experience. 

1. Norwich LB Giannoulis plays Norwich CM Sara as Warner and Batth get back to their positions. 

2. Giannoulis’s run allows Nunez to move from the touch line to the inside left channel. This drags away a defender and gives space to Giannoulis. 

3. Sara plays a good throughball into Giannoulis’s run. 

4. Giannoulis then does well to wait for runners and plays in Nunez’s underlapping run. Nunez gets a shot off but its blocked. Out for a corner. Great play from Giannoulis. 

Norwich Substitutions: 

Adam Idah [IN],  Jaden Warner [OUT]

Note: David Wagner puts a striker (Idah) on for a center back (Warner). Norwich have switched to a 4-4-2 now. McLean fills in at LCB as Batth goes in to RCB. Nunez and Sara fill up the two central midfield positions and the Idah joins Hwang as a front two. I wonder if this changes how aggressively the fullbacks push up or not. 

63:52 | Idah wins the ball back and lays it off to Rowe who gets a good shot on goal. It’s blocked. Another corner. 

64:45 | Batth has been great at winning aerial duels at the back. Wins another header. 

66:50 | Although McLean is not a traditional CB, he shows the positive aspects of having a left-footed LCB: 

1. McLean opens his body up with his left/dominant foot. 

2. McLean is able to send a direct ball over the top to Idah. Pass is at the correct tempo. Ends up being a little long but the passage of play is good and the decision making is positive from both McLean and Idah. 

67:14 | Again, Batth wins the header. 

Note: After Idah’s substitution, the Norwich fullbacks continue to push up but do so in the form of overlaps. They don’t start off in a high position. 

68:03 | We see again what a left-footed LCB brings to build up. 

1. McLean makes a good pass to Hwang. This is the type of pass that is harder to make from a right footed position, so chances are we won’t see this progression if Batth were still holding this position. 

2. Hwang receives the ball and sees Idah’s run. Hwang chips it over the top

3. Idah makes a good run but it’s a bit too long. Again, good reading of play from Idah. McLean is also much better helping with buildup in the LCB role. 

Cardiff Substitutions: 

Ollie Tanner [IN], Rubin Colwill [IN], Ryan Wintle [IN], Josh Bowler [OUT], Callum Robinson [OUT], Joe Ralls [OUT]

72:55 | Again, McLean being a left-footed LCB shines through. 

1. McLean opens up his body so he has a lot of passing options. 

2. He chooses to drive forward before laying off a pass. This is harder for the Cardiff striker Meite to press because the ball is further away from him. If McLean was right footed, it would be easier to knick the ball away. This is a small detail but it’s the nuances that build up that often make the difference. 

3. McLean finds Giannoulis by the touchline. Again, because this is a left footed pass played to Giannoulis who receives it on his backfoot, Giannoulis doesn’t need to break stride. This is one of the benefits of playing a left footed LCB and LB pairing. 

4. Giannoulis plays a great throughball to find Idah’s run. Again its a great run but the ball is too long. 

73:50 | Cardiff midfielder Colwill fires a cross into the Norwich box but no one gets on the end of it. 

Norwich substitution: 

Liam Gibbs [IN], Marcelino Nunez [OUT]

74:55 | Again we see how McLean is effective as a left-footed LCB. It’s easier to dribble out and find safer passing angles from that position. McLean plays Giannoulis who finds Rowe in a positive play but it ends with a crushing tackle. All of this starts with McLean. Corner. 

76:02 | Good corner in and scrappy play in the box. Batth gets a good header in the 6 yard box that gets blocked. Norwich have the moment and look very threatening. 

77:30 - 78:15 | Good passage of play by Norwich. They are growing into the game and looking sharp. Tempo is good. 

79:15 | Decent free kick by Sara

Cardiff substitution: 

Kion Etete [IN], Yakou Meite [OUT]

Norwich substitution: 

Onel Hernandez [IN], Hwang Ui Jo [OUT]

Note: Cardiff make like-for-like subs. Norwich sub Hernandez takes up the LW position as Rowe now moves up the the striker position. 

Goal | Norwich 2 - 2 Cardiff

 81:40 | Norwich equalizer. A good corner from Sara. Batth gets a head to it but it falls to Fassnacht. Fassnacht passes it back in front of goal. It hits Cardiff player Ryan Wintle for an own goal. 

1. Batth wins the header again. His aerial dominance is very important and Meite on Cardiff who can challenge Batth has been subbed off. 

2. Fassnacht fires the loose ball back across goal. 

3. An unlucky deflection by Wintle directs it into the goal. 

Goal | Norwich 3 - 2 Cardiff 

83:13 | The third Norwich goal comes from a pattern we have seen repeatedly. It’s the same link between McNeal, Giannoulis, and Rowe connecting on the left hand side. 

1. McNeal spots the run of Giannoulis as he bombs down the left. 

2. Giannoulis sees Rowe is in a good position and lays off the pass. 

3. Rowe takes the shot but its blocked. 

4. Idah follows up on the deflection and scores. 

Note: Norwich really benefit from the tactical changes at half time and from the switch of McLean to LCB. 

85:00 | Giannoulis wins the ball back around the halfway line and drives forward down the line. A Cardiff defender tackles and Giannoulis wins a corner. Smart play to go towards the corner from Giannoulis. The quick back-to-back goals have completely changed the mood and now Norwich are going to try and slow the game down and control it.  

86:18 | McLean spots a good run behind the line and sprays another long through ball. 

1. Good ball over the top for Norwich forwards

2. Hernandez gets the ball and gets a shot off but it’s blocked. Great play from McNeal. 

Note: After Robinson got subbed off, Cardiff have found it very difficult to progress the ball centrally. Most switches of play have been long balls which haven’t been as accurate or well timed compared to when Robinson was linking play. 

87:55 | Decent attempt by Cardiff but Norwich defend well. Cardiff have lost their intensity and seem to be a half tempo less sharp for the last 30 minutes. 

88:40 | Cardiff are desperate to get another goal. Lots of crosses into the box and they’re playing positively but rushing their attacks and Norwich are defending very compactly with almost all 11 players behind the ball. 

90:00 | Great play by Cardiff LW Grant and good defending from Norwich. 

1. Cardiff LW Grant beats his man down the wing. 

2. Grant puts in a good cross but the Cardiff striker can’t get good contact. The box is crowded with Norwich players (5 vs. 3 close to the 6-yard box)

90:00 + ET | Hernandez and Rowe still go for the next goal. Cardiff are able to start a counter through Grant on the left side but it gets cut out. Norwich RB Stacey makes a run forward to launch another attack but the ball goes out for a corner. Neither side are refusing to lay down. Great competition from two teams that don’t give up. 

90:00 + ET | Idah tries to waste time by shielding the ball by the corner flag. Not the prettiest method but effective. 

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Note: Cardiff send their CBs into the box for extra aerial presence and put in crosses. Norwich defend with 11 players behind the ball. 

- End -