Norwich City 2-2 Swansea: Ben Lee Canaries tactical take

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.

This is what Ben made of a second successive Carrow Road draw for David Wagner's side. 

Norwich Vs Swansea: Differing positional logic.

Score: 2 – 2

Possession (%): 41 – 59

Passes: 353 – 537

Shots: 27 – 13

xG: 3.09 – 1.40

• · Ball-side man-to-man pressing.
• · A recurring rest-defence issue.
• · Inverting full-backs and wide triangles.
• · Similar structures, different logic.

Base Formations:

David Wagner made one change to his side, as Christian Fassnacht replaced Ashley Barnes, while Swansea City boss Luke Williams named an unchanged eleven following the visitor’s 4-0 win away at Huddersfield. Both sides set up in fluid 4-2-3-1 base formations.

During goalkeeper restarts, Norwich transitioned into an asymmetric 4-2-2-2 deep build-up structure. But this time it was Sainz (7) who inverted from the left and dropped alongside Sara (17) ahead of City’s double pivot, leaving Fassnacht (16) in the last line.

Swansea pressed high from a 4-4-2 diamond, with Cooper (31) joining Cullen (20) in a front two. Fulton (4) occupied the space behind, while the wingers stayed back to press Norwich’s advanced full-backs.

The visitor’s ball-side man-to-man press was initiated by Cullen (20), who jumped from Gibson (6) to Gunn (28). In response, Fulton (4) jumped onto Norwich’s free pivot.

If there was a passing angle between Gunn (28) and McLean (23), Norwich were able to escape via a bounce pass to Gibson (6). In these situations, City’s left centre-back was free to advance as McCallum (15) pinned the Swansea winger back while Key (2) tracked Sainz (7).

When Wagner’s men played out to their right, the left centre-forward jumped to press Duffy (24), leaving Fulton (4) to shift over towards Nunez (26).

With Swansea’s left winger following Stacey (3), and Sara (17) dropping deep on the same side, Grimes (8) jumped to occupy City’s Brazilian midfielder. The visitor’s aggressive press either forced Norwich long into the last line or to the far-side full-back.

In one instance, City created a goal-scoring opportunity just seconds after a goal-kick when Duffy (24) played a lofted ball towards the last line.

After Sargent (9) won the first contact, Fassnacht (16) dismarked the left-back to receive the second ball before playing through to Sargent (9) in the space behind Darling (6).

In open-play deep build-up phases, the hosts were able to play through Swansea’s aggressive press with more control. On one occasion, Grimes (8) was caught between Nunez (26) and Sara (17), allowing Duffy (24) to find the latter.

With Paterson (12) drawn to block the pass, Stacey (3) became free to receive before City’s right-back combined with Fassnacht (16) to access the space behind Tymon (14).

On another occasion, Norwich exploited a similar central overload. With Sainz (7) inverting alongside Sara (17), Swansea relied on their right-back to prevent a 2v1 against Grimes (8).

When Key (2) was late to track Sainz (7) centrally, Gibson (6) played through two lines of pressure to find City’s Spanish winger. The hosts then shifted the ball across to Stacey (3) in space to cross from the opposite side.

In settled phases of possession, McLean (23) often dropped between the centre-backs to create a situational back three. Sara (17) remained alongside Sainz (7), while Fassnacht (16) stayed in the last line, and City’s full-backs advanced on both sides.

These rotations often created a fluid 3-3-4 shape against the visitor’s aggressive 4-4-2 mid-press. After Norwich initially found success overloading Tymon (14) in a wide 2v1, Paterson (12) started to drop alongside the Swansea left-back.

The visitors were often able to force Norwich back into their deep build-up phases with moments of near-complete man-to-man pressure from a temporary 4-2-4 shape.

In these phases, Norwich’s centre-backs would split on either side of Gunn (28) as the Swansea wingers pressed from the front and Cooper (31) moved infield to occupy Nunez (26).

Halfway through the first half, in the build-up to their opening goal, Swansea exploited a recurring rest-defence issue created by Norwich’s expansive settled-play structure.

Following a misplaced pass from Sara (17) to Sainz (7), Swansea were able to advance from the halfway line to the penalty area in just five seconds. Cullen (20) was free to receive between the lines before he found Paterson (12) in space on the left.

Luke William’s side were fluid during goal-kicks as the full-backs advanced to create dual width with the wingers, while Cooper (31) often dropped into the space ahead of the pivots.

Like the visitors, Norwich pressed from a 4-4-2 diamond, with Sara (17) joining Sargent (9) in a front two while Nunez (26) occupied the space behind. But Swansea’s full-backs often forced City’s wingers back to create more of a 4-3-1-2 shape.

Norwich’s press began with Sargent (9) closing down Rushworth (22) from the left, hoping to force a pass to Darling (6), who was pressed by Sara (17).

City then created their usual ball-side man-to-man press, from which they forced numerous high turnovers. On occasion, Rushworth (22) played directly into the wide areas to access the visitor’s wide overloads.

In open-play build-up phases, Fulton (4) advanced on the right while Cooper (31) shifted over to the left half-space and the full-backs inverted on both sides.

The Swansea wingers remained high and wide against the touchlines, while Grimes (8) often dropped deep into the space ahead of Rushworth (22). With the full-backs advancing to combine with a five-man last line, the visitors created wide triangles and half-space overloads.

Nunez (26) frequently joined the first line of pressure to prevent a 3v2 overload, including when Norwich’s left centre-forward jumped from Cabango (5) to the goalkeeper.

With Swansea attempting to access a wide triangle on one side, their far-side full-back inverted onto the ball-side to create a narrow 2-3 rest defence. The high positioning of the visitor’s full-backs also pinned Norwich’s wingers away from joining the high pressing phases.

By receiving on the half-turn instead of playing back to a free centre-back, Grimes (8) managed to manipulate and evade pressure from Nunez (26) before playing out wide into the final third.

In these situations, the benefit of Swansea’s five-man last line became clear. With Norwich’s back four occupying every attacker on the ball-side, the visitor’s 5v4 last-line overload meant the far-side winger became free at the far post.

In settled phases of possession, Grimes (8) often dropped between the centre-backs to create a situational back three. Fulton (4) or Cooper (31) would then drop between the inverted full-backs to create a 3-3-4 structure.

This structure had a high degree of interchangeability, with the Swansea players comfortable filling in for one another to ensure each position remained occupied. In these situations, Norwich pressed from a 4-4-2 mid-block.

At times, both sides created similar settled build-up structures. But they did so via differing positional logic. Luke Williams inverts his full-backs, leaving the wingers high on both touchlines. David Wagner’s wingers invert, allowing the full-backs to advance into the last line.

Williams’ logic allows his side to control games thanks to a secure rest defence with players in close proximity. Unlike Norwich, Swansea’s positional rotations keep the full-backs near their defensive positions, reducing the space they have to cover in transitions.

Had Norwich been more clinical in the final third, however, Wagner’s side could have come away with the win. Instead, another tactically fascinating game ended with parity. But with this point almost securing a play-off place, a remarkable comeback is nearly complete.