Blackburn Vs Norwich

Blackburn Vs Norwich: A game of vertical progression, bounce passes, and inversions.

Score: 0 - 2

Possession (%): 60 - 40

xG: 1.11 - 0.90

· Norwich’s well-balanced line-up.

· A style that suited the structure.

· Bounce passes and vertical progression.

· Blackburn’s inverting and underlapping full backs.

Base Formations:

Both Blackburn and Norwich were set up in 4-2-3-1 base formations. With Jacob Sorenson and Liam Gibbs coming into Norwich’s midfield, their line-up looked much more balanced than it has in previous games. Sorenson filled the void created by Kenny McLean’s absence, while Gibbs occupied the number ten role: a position which has previously been taken by a second striker.

In the first phase of Norwich’s build-up, Aarons and Giannoulis appeared to stay slightly deeper than they have done in the past. In this phase, Norwich created a 4-2 build-up with Sorenson and Sara acting as a double pivot. Gibbs occupied the space just behind a front three of Hernandez, Sargent and Marquinhos.

Blackburn pressed high in a 4-4-2 shape which, when the wide players joined the press, became more of a 4-2-4. Szmodics (8) and Gallagher (9) acted as a front two, as Brereton-Diaz and Hedges jumped to press Aarons and Giannoulis respectively. With Hanley and Gibson dropping either side of Gunn, Norwich had a 3v2 against Blackburn’s front two. Morton (6) and Travis (27) joined the press to limit Norwich’s central progression through Sorenson and Sara.

But this aggressive press did create problems for Blackburn. With six players pressing high, a gap was created in the space in front of their back four.

Norwich looked to exploit this space by playing out quickly, and vertically, towards Sargent who would play a bounce pass back into the void created by Blackburn’s press. Typically, it was one of Sara, Sorenson, Hernandez or Marquinhos who would then play a first-time pass into the space behind Blackburn’s back line.

This method of ball progression was helped by Sargent and Gibbs’ intelligent movements and combinations. They often made runs into Norwich’s half, dragging Hyam (5) and Carter (17) with them. This created space for Norwich attackers to run into. This is exactly what happened in the build up to Norwich’s first goal of the game, and Gibbs’ first senior goal for Norwich.

In the second phase of their build-up, when Blackburn dropped into a deeper 4-4-2, Norwich often created a temporary back three to maintain a 3v2 against the first line of pressure. This was either created by Sorenson dropping deep, or by Aarons tucking alongside Hanley.

When Sorenson dropped deep Sara occupied the space in front, while Gibbs sat behind Sargent on a different vertical line to Sara; this was important to maximise passing angles when playing into Blackburn’s half.

If Aarons tucked alongside Hanley to create the back three, Sorenson stayed in midfield alongside Sara. To maintain the occupation of each of the five vertical corridors – and therefore a 5v4 in the final third – Marquinhos took Aarons’ place in the right wide area while Sargent or Gibbs occupied the right half space. But, in the final third, Brereton-Diaz (22) and Hedges (19) often tucked alongside Blackburn’s full backs to minimise this overload. Aarons frequently underlapped Marquinhos in the right half space, creating a 6v6.

In the first phase of Blackburn’s build-up, the hosts often created a 2-3 shape with Morton (6) acting as a single pivot. Ahead of Morton, Szmodics (8) and Travis (27) occupied each half space. Brereton-Diaz (22) and Ryan Hedges (19) filled the wide areas, while Gallagher (9) sat in the central corridor.

In response, Norwich pressed with man-orientation – where the position of each pressing player is determined by opposing players – in a 4-2-3-1 shape. Gibbs marked Morton (6) tightly, while Hernandez and Marquinhos were ready to press the full backs. If Sargent needed help pressing the centre backs, Gibbs left Morton and the far-side Norwich winger jumped to cover for Gibbs. Sorenson and Sara stayed deeper to mark Szmodics (8) and Travis (27) in the half spaces.

Occasionally, Travis (27) would drop deeper – creating a 2-4 first phase build-up – alongside Morton (6). In these situations, the nearest Norwich holding midfielder (often Gabriel Sara) would jump into the high press. When Sara joined the press, Gibbs stayed on Morton while the Brazilian followed Travis; this created a 4-1-4-1 pressing structure.

When Blackburn made it to the second phase of their build-up, like Norwich, they often created a back three. There were two primary rotations that enabled them to create this shape.

One rotation saw Pickering (3) tuck alongside Hyam (5) and Carter (17). Lewis Travis (27) would then drop alongside Morton (6) to form a double pivot. Hedges (19) then moved into the space vacated by Travis, while Rankin-Costello advanced into the right wide area. Together, these rotations created a 3-2-4-1 shape.

Alternatively, Pickering (3) frequently inverted from left back to create a double pivot with Morton (6); in response, Marquinhos inverted to follow him. Rankin-Costello would then tuck alongside Carter (17) rather than advancing on the right wing. During this rotation, Blackburn’s attacking five were able to remain in the spaces they were originally occupying.

This was probably Blackburn’s most common build-up rotation, but it had numerous variations. For example, Szmodics (8) often dropped deep to support Blackburn’s build-up.

Blackburn’s shape was designed to create a 5v4 against Norwich’s back line, while Pickering (3) and Travis (27) – often moving into a position to underlap the wide players – were used to overload the half spaces. But Sara and Sorenson did well to drop between their nearest full back and centre back to minimise these overloads.

With Norwich only pressing with one permanent striker, Blackburn were creating an unnecessary 3v1. One alternative could have been to invert both full backs alongside Morton (6) – to occupy every pressing Norwich player – while overloading Norwich’s double pivot with one of their front three dropping between Travis (27) and Szmodics (8).

It was an impressive performance from David Wagner’s men on Friday afternoon. The balance of the side, with three natural midfielders, was much better than it has been at times under Wagner. Norwich’s build-up style was also more suited to the structure of the team. They were playing to the strengths of the positions they were occupying, and they successfully exploited the spaces they created.

Vertical progression, intense pressing, and benefitting from transitions are all characteristics that Norwich demonstrated against Blackburn. The challenge is still to find consistency, especially with the mounting injuries likely to affect the new-found balance of the side.