After Norwich City’s late sucker punch at Middlesbrough, Connor Southwell delivers six things you might have missed from the Riverside Stadium.
1 – Attack attack attack
Norwich City hadn't scored more than one goal in any of their last 10 meetings at the Riverside Stadium. They tripled that total on Saturday and still lost.
The two teams recorded 30 shots - 11 on target, 21 came inside the area, 65 penalty box touches, 109 final third entries, 167 completed passes in the final third, 3.69 expected goals. Throw in seven goals and a stoppage-time winner for good measure.
Those numbers paint the picture of a chaotic afternoon on Teesside. Both Philippe Clement and Kim Hellberg promised an exciting game for the neutral. They delivered, but at the expense of defensive structure, solidity, and order. The tone was set in the first 60 seconds, when Boro squandered a big chance before Mo Toure scored at the other end.
Toure now has five goals for City in all competitions, with three coming inside the opening 90 seconds of a match - MK Dons, Burnley and now Boro. This one came after just 47 seconds, with the final goal from Ashley Phillips arriving 45 seconds into stoppage time.
The longest spell without a shot on target was 13 minutes, between the start of the second half and Neto Borges dragging a shot wide in the 58th minute. In the first half, six minutes was the longest spell without an effort from either side.
Bottle this chaos up and sell it as an advert for the Championship: bonkers, nonsensical and frenzied. This was two heavyweight boxers taking big hits, counter-punching and giving their all to win. Neither coach settled for a point. Neither sat in a block and sought to shut up shop. Nobody at The Riverside would have left feeling they didn't get value for money.
2 – Clean sheet record
Norwich City have now gone 16 consecutive competitive matches without a clean sheet, as their defensive struggles continued at The Riverside.
Their last came against Charlton Athletic on March 21, 175 days ago. Only three clubs across the top four English divisions boast a worse clean sheet record in league matches than City: Burnley (15), Chelsea (20) and Preston North End (22).
The trend over the last three seasons is more alarming. In 98 Championship matches, City have recorded just 18 clean sheets, a percentage of 18.4pc. To finish inside the play-off positions, teams typically produce between 12–18 clean sheets per season, which shows the work required for Clement.
Underlying defensive numbers paint a similar picture. Only nine teams have conceded a higher quality of chance than the Canaries, who have already amassed an expected goals against figure of 8.9.
In their opening seven matches, City are conceding an average of 13 shots on their goal and 4.43 on target (10th highest). Yet, despite those mid-table numbers, only five teams are conceding more from their shots on target than Norwich (0.43).
Given that context, and the fact that Vladan Kovacevic finds himself rooted to the foot of the goals-prevented table with -3.84, it is perhaps easy to place the blame at the Serbian's door - but it shows a picture that Norwich are allowing too many chances and their number one is exposed and is yet to find form.
3 – Stretched
Norwich's defensive issues at the Riverside were not solely the product of individual errors. A growing body of evidence suggests they became too stretched between attack and defence, leaving large spaces for Middlesbrough to exploit when possession changed hands.
The average-position maps show that attacking trio Mo Toure, Anis Ben Slimane and Anthony Musaba were frequently operating well ahead of the rest of the team.
Behind them, Kenny McLean and Pelle Mattsson were tasked with linking Norwich's attack to a deeper defensive structure. The pair combined for 133 touches and 21 duels, with Mattsson contesting 14 of those on his own. Their heatmaps showed both players covering vast swathes of territory across the middle third, reinforcing the impression of two midfielders trying to bridge the gap between separate attacking and defensive units rather than operating within a compact block.
The touch count adds further weight to that theory. Despite Norwich recording 49.7pc possession, Toure managed just 13 touches before his exit. Slimane recorded 33 and Brooks 39. By contrast, centre-back Ruairi McConville finished with 78 touches, McLean 71 and Mattsson 62. Norwich's deepest players dominated possession while their focal point saw comparatively little of the ball, suggesting a disconnect between the build-up phase and the attacking line.
The Canaries lost possession 56 times in the middle third compared to Middlesbrough's 39, while they also surrendered the ball 40 times in their own half. Those figures meant repeated defensive transitions and, with the attacking players often positioned high up the pitch, left McLean and Mattsson responsible for protecting large areas of space in front of the defence.
That is arguably the downside of City's more natural attacking profile. The threat offered by their front players is obvious, but the Riverside highlighted a lingering issue. Norwich are yet to consistently find a way to connect deep build-up and attack while maintaining the compactness required to control transitions when possession is lost.
4 – Second half swing
If there was one reason for encouragement amid the frustration, it was Norwich's response after the interval.
The visitors produced seven shots after the interval, hit the target three times and created two big chances, matching Middlesbrough's tally despite spending much of the half either behind or chasing an equaliser.
Perhaps most encouragingly, the improvement did not come from dominating possession. Norwich actually saw less of the ball in the second half, but were more purposeful when they had it.
Their attacking play also became more efficient. Norwich recorded five shots from inside the penalty area in the second half, compared to three before the break, while their expected goals on target jumped from 0.91 to 1.20. Having struggled to consistently threaten Middlesbrough's goal in the opening 45 minutes, they found more ways to access dangerous central areas and ask questions of the hosts' back line.
Their attacks carried greater conviction, reaching dangerous areas more frequently and increasingly stretching Middlesbrough's back line as the game became more transitional.
It offered another glimpse of the attacking potential within Philippe Clement's squad. Norwich's response could not mask the defensive issues that ultimately proved decisive, but it did underline a resilience and attacking quality that kept them firmly alive in a contest that looked in danger of slipping away before the break.
5 – The Wright Stuff
Jacob Wright's second-half introduction offered another intriguing glimpse of a player who increasingly looks capable of providing Norwich with a different option in the number 10 position.
Introduced for Anis Ben Slimane at the break, Wright immediately helped inject fresh energy into City's attacking play and was directly involved in several of their most threatening moments after the interval.
Operating higher than his customary midfield role, Wright contributed significantly in just 45 minutes, creating three chances, including one big chance, while contributing 0.31 expected assists. His willingness to receive on the turn and drive at Middlesbrough's back line gave City a focal point in central areas that had been missing during an uneven first half.
Perhaps most encouragingly for Philippe Clement, Wright's influence came from a relatively small volume of possession. He touched the ball only 20 times but still created three chances, completed 10 passes, registered two touches inside the opposition box and completed a successful dribble. Those numbers point to a player making decisive contributions rather than simply circulating possession.
With Paris Maghoma, Oscar Schwartau and Slimane all competing for attacking midfield minutes, the battle for City's number 10 role remains open.
But Wright's cameo at the Riverside reinforced his credentials. Three chances created from only 20 touches is the profile of a player affecting games rather than simply participating in them.
6 – Gulp…
Norwich City's defensive frailties will face their sternest examination yet when they travel to the Etihad on Thursday night.
Pep Guardiola may no longer be prowling the touchline, but Enzo Maresca has made a bright start to life with the eight-time Premier League champions, even if they remain a work in progress.
Since their famous Jonny Howson-inspired final-day 3-2 win at the Etihad Stadium in May 2013, Norwich have played Manchester City on their home turf on four occasions, conceding 19 times in the process. That has included a 7-0 defeat and, in their last two visits, two 5-0 losses.
Their last goal there was netted by Cameron Jerome in a respectable 2-1 loss to Manuel Pellegrini's side, when Yaya Toure's stoppage-time penalty rescued the result. They hope to improve on that in their first League Cup clash against Manchester City since a 1-0 defeat in 2007.
Clement's only visit to the Etihad as a manager came in November 2021 as boss of Club Brugge with a team that included the likes of Noa Lang, Clinton Mata and Charles de Ketelaere - yet they were still beaten 4-1 on the Champions League stage.
Amid an intense fixture schedule which has brought seven games in 28 days, or an average of one game every four days, the question now is whether Clement opts to rotate or go strong on Thursday night.
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