Blackburn Vs Norwich: Pressing, Patterns, & Overloads

Score: 1–1

Possession (%): 42–58

Passes: 396–556

Shots: 10–7

xG: 1.03–0.67

• Deep structural superiorities.
• Blackburn’s mid-block dynamics.
• Effective settled-play patterns.
• Variable pressing efficacy.

Base Formations:

David Wagner made three changes to his side following a comfortable win against Cardiff, with Dimitris Giannoulis, Ben Gibson, and Christian Fassnacht coming into the eleven to face John Eustace’s Blackburn at Ewood Park.

The hosts set up in a 3–4–2–1 formation, with Pickering (3) replacing Hedges (19) after 15 minutes, while the visitor’s rotations began from their usual 4–2–3–1 base.

During Norwich goal-kicks, Wagner’s side transitioned into an asymmetric 4–2–2–2 structure, as Sainz (7) inverted alongside Sara (17) ahead of City’s double pivot, while Fassnacht (16) remained in the last line alongside Sargent (9).

In response, Blackburn created a flat front three, while the wing-backs backed up the press on Stacey (3) and Giannoulis (30). Tronstad (6) and Buckley (21) sat between Sara (17), Sainz (7), and City’s double pivot in a central 4v2; this often left a last-line 3v2 in Blackburn’s favour.

Despite Norwich’s overload behind the first line of pressure, Blackburn’s front three and aggressive wing-backs frequently forced the hosts long from goal-kicks, leaving City playing over a 4v2 into an area of numerical inferiority.

Unsurprisingly, many of these attempts resulted in the visitors conceding an easy turnover in Blackburn’s half.

When Wagner’s men did decide to play out, however, Hyam (5) jumped onto Sainz (7) deep in Norwich’s half, creating a man-to-man situation on City’s left.

But the visitor’s asymmetric build-up structure made Blackburn’s press more complex on the opposite side, as Fassnacht (16) pinned Wharton (16) in the last line. When the left wing-back jumped to press Stacey (3), and Tronstad (6) was drawn to the pivot, Sara (17) was left unoccupied.

With Norwich building up in open play, Blackburn’s wing-backs didn’t always jump to press the full-backs; this changed the dynamics of the host’s press.

On the right, it became Dolan’s (10) responsibility to press the left-back while Brittain (2) stayed back on Sainz (7). But within the first 10 minutes, City created a promising attack when Sargent (9) dropped between the lines to receive from Giannoulis (30), while Tronstad (6) left Sara (17) free to advance and find Stacey (3) on the overlap.

On the left, the host’s wing-back occasionally inverted to occupy Sara (17), leaving Gallagher (9) to press the right-back and Tronstad (6) on the right-sided pivot.

In the 24th minute, however, Norwich played through Blackburn’s press before Sara (17) created a chance for Sargent (9) worth 0.34xG — the second highest quality chance of the game.

With Gallagher (9) pressing Hanley (5), Tronstad (6) tracking McLean (23), and Pickering (3) jumping from Sara (17) to Stacey (3), City’s Brazilian midfielder became free to advance in the build-up to Sargent’s (9) chance.

In settled possession, Norwich’s usual rotations saw the wingers invert and the full-backs overlap, while McLean (23) or Nunez (26) dropped between or alongside the centre-backs to create a situational back three.

In response, Blackburn transitioned between a 5–2–3 mid-press and a more structurally conservative 5–4–1 mid-block in their own half.

With Blackburn in their more proactive 5–2–3 mid-press, Norwich completed numerous effective settled-play patterns, as Nunez (26) temporarily became free behind the first line of pressure before combining with Sara (17) and the inverted wingers in a central 4v2.

When Blackburn’s right-forward applied pressure to Gibson (6), Buckley (21) was forced to press Nunez (26), leaving Hyam (5) to jump onto Sainz (7) between the lines.

But given Norwich’s central overload, once Tronstad (6) pressed Sara (17), Fassnacht (16) became free to receive in the right half-space. In such situations, Sainz (7) was able to exploit Hyam’s (5) aggressive role by outpacing him into space behind.

The same mid-press dynamics took place on the opposite side, including when Sargent (9) dropped towards the ball carrier and Wharton (16) jumped from the back five. This pattern left space in behind for Sara (17) or Fassnacht (16) to exploit.

In Blackburn’s deep build-up phases, Eustace’s men created a 3–2–4–1 shape, with the wide centre-backs moving out towards the touchlines while the wing-backs advanced on both sides.

In these phases, Norwich created their usual 4–1–3–2 pressing structure, as Sara (17) joined Sargent (9) up front, Nunez (26) moved into the second line of pressure, and McLean (23) occupied the space in front of the back four.

The Canaries pressed with intensity, creating a man-to-man situation on the ball-side, while Blackburn’s double pivot moved over to support the ball carrier.

On City’s right, for example, with the front two closing down the ball-side centre-backs, Nunez (26) jumped onto Buckley (21), while Fassnacht (16) pressed Tronstad (6). To prevent an easy escape, Stacey (3) tracked the left wing-back, while McLean (23) stayed tight to Gallagher (9).

City’s intense, ball-side man-to-man press made it difficult for Blackburn to play out on the near side. But with every tactical advantage, there’s a trade-off — a weakness the opponent can exploit.

In Norwich’s case, the weakness can be found on the far side of their press. With Sainz (7) ready to close down Hyam (5), and McLean (23) too far away to track Dolan (10), Blackburn had an opportunity to exploit a far-side overload via the goalkeeper.

But Blackburn frequently failed to access this advantage in deep build-up phases, instead committing to progression on the ball-side. The execution of such an approach requires flawless passing patterns, something Blackburn rarely achieved deep in their own half.

Indeed, a misplaced pass from Pears (1) to Pickering (3) was intercepted by Fassnacht (16) in the build-up to Norwich’s goal. Having temporarily switched places with Nunez (26), McLean (23) made a driving run to the edge of the box where he was fouled, before Nunez (26) scored from the resultant free kick.

The hosts had more success in settled phases of possession, where they created and exploited several structural advantages against Norwich’s 4–1–3–2 mid-press.

A few minutes before half time, with Norwich pressing man-to-man against Rovers’ 3–2 build-up structure, Wharton (16) found an angle to Tronstad (6), who bounced the ball out to Dolan (10). By dropping behind Fassnacht (16), Dolan (10) gave McLean (23) too far to jump, allowing Blackburn to escape City’s mid-press.

Blackburn also found success when building up on the edge of their own half, where they created a 3–2–5 structure against Norwich’s 4–4–2 mid-block.

Tronstad (6) and Buckley (21) frequently became available to receive from the back three, either by creating a passing angle between Norwich’s front two or by moving to the side of a centre-forward.

Part way through the first half, for example, Buckley (21) received to the side of Sargent (9), before passing to Pickering (3) out wide. With Stacey (3) and Fassnacht (16) both pressing the wing-back, he passed into the channel for Dolan (10) to receive on the underlap — thereby exploiting a 5v4 last-line overload.

Both sides often created structural advantages against their opponent’s out-of-possession strategies, but crucially, neither team consistently generated high-quality chances from the patterns they were able to create.

The contest became more difficult for Wagner’s men in the second half, when Blackburn created a more aggressive man-to-man press, forcing the visitors back into their own half. This, combined with City’s inability to break down Blackburn’s deeper 5–4–1, saw the sides cancel each other out for much of the second half.