MATCH REPORT: BLACKBURN 1, CITY 1
The clues were in the pre-match press conference. David Wagner said that Blackburn presented a more physical challenge than Cardiff. I read that and my inner monologue said ?that?ll be Gibson back then?.
A head coach?s job is a balancing act. Marcelino Nunez was the metronome in the City midfield. He dictated the tempo of the game and in no way ?deserved? to be dropped by any normal metric. With Blackburn playing a 3-4-3 formation, Wagner attempted to achieve the balance by keeping the extra midfielder in Kenny McLean, while dropping Ashley Barnes to the bench and notionally pushing Gabriel Sara into a more advanced role.
His final change from the team that imperiously swept Cardiff away was Christian Fassnacht in place of Onel Hernandez on the wing.
The pattern of the game was established in the opening minutes. Blackburn pressed City high and hard, who then used their usual tactic of splitting the centre-backs and pushing the full-backs high, with a midfielder dropping deep, but Blackburn were wise to it and committed further players to stop the pass into the middle.
The trouble was, for vast swathes of the game, City simply were not good enough to cope with this press. Gibson looked uncomfortable as he was pressured in possession ? a stark contrast to Mclean last week. More often than not, Angus Gunn was forced to go long to Josh Sargent or attempt the chip pass out to the full-backs.
When City were able to get out at the back, they caused problem...
source:
myfootballwriter-norwichcity
URL source:
http://norwichcity.myfootballwriter.com/
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