Ben Lee: Tactical analysis of Boro defeat
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0 Comments This article is brought to you by our exclusive subscriber partnership with our sister title USA Today, and has been written by our American colleagues. It does not necessarily reflect the view of The Herald. A 'beautiful' game. But a painful outcome for Norwich City. Ben Lee breaks down a 4-3 Championship defeat at Middlesbrough.
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.
Ben gives his take on an epic encounter at the Riverside.
Middlesbrough Vs Norwich: “A beautiful game.”
Possession (%): 50 – 50
xG: 2.38 – 1.76
· Toure’s finishing.
· Positional rotations.
· Allowing overloads.
· The Wright impact.
After Norwich’s 2-1 win in the week, Phillippe Clement made four changes to his side, as Fisher, Slimane, Musaba, and Toure returned to the lineup to face Kim Hellberg’s Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium.
Middlesbrough 4-3 Norwich City: Ben Lee tactical analysis (Image: Ben Lee)
City were facing a tough test against one of the promotion favourites, but they made a strong start when Toure (21) beat a centre-back to a loose ball in Middlesbrough’s half.
The Australian forward then demonstrated his finishing ability: turning a chance worth 0.29xG into a shot worth 0.85xGOT. In other words, there was a 29% chance he’d score from that position, but an 85% chance that his shot would beat the goalkeeper.
Middlesbrough 4-3 Norwich City: Ben Lee tactical analysis (Image: Ben Lee)
Despite this start, Clement’s men failed to turn their lead into control. And City’s struggles began in their deep build-up, where Middlesbrough pressed with intensity from a 4-3-3 with two advanced centre-midfielders.
In the fourth minute, McLean (23) moved over to the right, allowing Fisher (35) to advance, but a heavy touch from McConville (15) was punished by Boro.
Middlesbrough 4-3 Norwich City: Ben Lee tactical analysis (Image: Ben Lee)
Norwich did have some success in their first-half build-up play. In one instance, for example, Brooks (11) dropped to receive before playing back to Fisher (35), who found Slimane (21) in space between the lines.
Middlesbrough 4-3 Norwich City: Ben Lee tactical analysis (Image: Ben Lee)
But the execution in the next phase of the attack wasn’t good enough, and, on this occasion, Slimane (21) overplayed and was tackled on the edge of Middlesbrough’s half.
Just minutes later, City created another tactical advantage as Mattsson (7) advanced to create a 2v1 against the host’s defensive midfielder before a sloppy pass resulted in a throw-in, as Clement’s men failed to find the free man.
Middlesbrough 4-3 Norwich City: Ben Lee tactical analysis (Image: Ben Lee)
Beyond the goalkeeper’s involvement in these deep build-up phases, Middlesbrough’s press changed, as they initially dropped into a 4-1-4-1 setup.
Middlesbrough 4-3 Norwich City: Ben Lee tactical analysis (Image: Ben Lee)
This was before the left-winger joined a front two and the left-back stepped into midfield to occupy Brooks (11) as he dropped into a temporary box midfield. These pressing rotations created a narrow 3-2-3-2 setup, allowing City to find a full-back out wide.
Middlesbrough 4-3 Norwich City: Ben Lee tactical analysis (Image: Ben Lee)
In response to an escape like this, Hellberg’s men dropped into a 4-4-2 mid-block. If Norwich managed to advance, at least one of the full-backs moved into the last line, creating a 2-3-5 in Middlesbrough’s half.
Middlesbrough 4-3 Norwich City: Ben Lee tactical analysis (Image: Ben Lee)
But before City could get to this point, Boro often used their 4-4-2 mid-block to jump into an aggressive man-to-man press, forcing the visitors back to Kovacevic (1).
Middlesbrough 4-3 Norwich City: Ben Lee tactical analysis (Image: Ben Lee)
One possible response to this pressure is to play faster into the last line to access space in behind. But despite his exceptional finishing, Toure (21) didn’t always hold up the ball as Norwich needed while his teammates advanced to support him.
Middlesbrough 4-3 Norwich City: Ben Lee tactical analysis (Image: Ben Lee)
Rather than allowing City to access runners in behind, this inconsistent hold-up play led to frequent turnovers when they tried to play into the last line at pace.
Instead, Norwich’s best chances came from finding midfielders in space between the lines. In one instance, for example, Cordoba (33) evaded his marker and found McLean (23) in space beyond the initial lines of pressure.
Middlesbrough 4-3 Norwich City: Ben Lee tactical analysis (Image: Ben Lee)
When Clement’s men used these opportunities to advance into settled possession, they occasionally created a 3-1-6 with McLean (23) dropping between the centre-backs.
But they struggled to create angles to play through Boro’s block, particularly before half-time, when Clement felt his players weren’t “available enough” for passes.
Middlesbrough 4-3 Norwich City: Ben Lee tactical analysis (Image: Ben Lee)
In Middlesbrough’s deep build-up phases, they played out with a narrow back four against Norwich’s 4-1-3-2 press. Despite Boro’s overload in these phases, City did well to regain possession several times.
Middlesbrough 4-3 Norwich City: Ben Lee tactical analysis (Image: Ben Lee)
But they didn’t always use these transitions effectively: often committing several players forward on the counter, leaving themselves exposed to a transition in the host’s favour. This is exactly what happened in the build-up to Boro’s second goal.
Middlesbrough 4-3 Norwich City: Ben Lee tactical analysis (Image: Ben Lee)
At times, Hellberg’s men were also able to use their first-phase overload to escape Norwich’s press, particularly if the visitors failed to commit to it. In one instance, for example, Musaba (49) dropped and allowed Boro to escape on his side.
Middlesbrough 4-3 Norwich City: Ben Lee tactical analysis (Image: Ben Lee)
Beyond these deep build-up phases, Middlesbrough’s positional fluidity became clear when they initially created a 2-3-2-3 with narrow full-backs against Norwich’s 4-2-3-1.
Their centre-forward often dropped between the lines in an attempt to create a 3v2 against City’s centre-midfielders, but Cordoba (33) stepped up to follow him.
Middlesbrough 4-3 Norwich City: Ben Lee tactical analysis (Image: Ben Lee)
One example of Boro’s rotations involved the right-back advancing into space to receive between the lines, while a midfielder dropped to maintain the host’s 2-3-2-3 shape.
Middlesbrough 4-3 Norwich City: Ben Lee tactical analysis (Image: Ben Lee)
Clement’s men generally did well to ensure players remained occupied; but, at times, the wingers jumped at the wrong moments without backup, allowing Boro to escape.
Middlesbrough 4-3 Norwich City: Ben Lee tactical analysis (Image: Ben Lee)
The hosts also frequently created a back three when one of the full-backs dropped. Norwich continued to have problems preventing escapes in these phases, with Malanda (29) often advancing into space to receive beyond the first line of pressure.
Middlesbrough 4-3 Norwich City: Ben Lee tactical analysis (Image: Ben Lee)
Middlesbrough escaped through this exact rotation in the build-up to their second goal, before Malanda (29) played into the last line, where big spaces between the lines of Norwich’s mid-block allowed the host’s attackers to advance into a 5v4 overload.
Middlesbrough 4-3 Norwich City: Ben Lee tactical analysis (Image: Ben Lee)
After losing control of the first half, Wright’s (16) introduction in the second made a big difference to Norwich’s build-up, with the midfielder always dropping to offer a passing option between the lines to connect the back line to the front.
Middlesbrough 4-3 Norwich City: Ben Lee tactical analysis (Image: Ben Lee)
Makama’s hold-up play also supported connectivity in the second half, but despite inspiring an impressive comeback, these changes didn’t stop a moment of poor set-piece defending from handing Middlesbrough a late winner.
Kim Hellberg rightly called it “a beautiful game” between two tactically interesting sides – but in the end for the Norwich faithful, it certainly didn’t feel like one.
You can read all Ben's previous analysis of Norwich City games via his social media accounts.
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