· 2 min readIn this Man City vs Norwich match, I analyse the key tactical moments, individual performances and turning points of the game.
Manchester City came into the third round of the Carabao Cup as clear favourites, still riding the momentum of their victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford. Norwich, coming from the second division, faced an opponent with more quality even in a rotated side. And that was exactly what we saw: City with the ball, Norwich compact, but without dropping too deep defensively.
The territorial superiority appeared immediately. City reached 78% possession after ten minutes and settled in the attacking half, but for a while they lacked what turns dominance into danger.
Cherki kept looking for Allan, although the young Brazilian took time to understand the runs, and Norwich managed to maintain a medium-high block that made it difficult to enter the box. From the outside, it looked like a controlled game, but not a particularly interesting one.
Still, Norwich were not simply sitting in front of their own goal: they defended compactly and in a high enough line to try to make City’s circulation difficult, only without applying enough pressure to really disrupt their build-up. Gradually, this became unsustainable.
In the 29th minute, however, the resistance ended. O’Reilly appeared in behind on the left and crossed after a failed clearance from Grimshaw. The ball reached Allan, who put it back into the box for Samba to head into the empty net. It was not a simple move, but it showed the difference in quality between the teams.
Three minutes later, the game was practically decided: Samba did an excellent job as a target man, Bouaddi released Cherki and, after the centre-back failed to make the tackle, the Frenchman was through on goal and calmly finished. 2-0.
Norwich finished the first half with just one blocked shot and 0.02 expected goals, while City had 72% possession and 0.81 xG. The lead was deserved, but the slow tempo also said a lot about how City controlled the game without needing to accelerate.
Allan made the second half even more comfortable. In the 48th minute, now moved over to the left, he received from Aït-Nouri, cut inside, took Sam Field out of the play and scored with his left foot. A beautiful goal on a debut in which he already had an assist, leaving a very positive first impression.
In the 54th minute, Samba got his second: Aït-Nouri recovered after slipping and found the striker, who shot across goal towards the far post to make it 4-0.
With the game decided, City naturally lowered the tempo. McAidoo still wasted a one-on-one opportunity, but redeemed himself in the 90th minute. O’Reilly put in a low cross from the left, Rico Lewis intelligently let the ball run and the young winger appeared in space to complete the rout.
Post-match
Norwich rarely even managed to get close to the opposition box, while City showed that they can rotate the squad without losing control or quality. And Allan, on his debut, was one of the most interesting notes from a comfortable night.
