Ten changes, two goals on debut for 17-year-old Floyd Samba, and a Norwich City side that never had a shot on target.
The numbers
| Manchester City | Norwich City | |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 65.8% | 34.2% |
| Shots | 14 | 4 |
| On target | 6 | 0 |
| xG | 1.77 | 0.17 |
| Corners | 2 | 3 |
| Pass accuracy | 93.1% | 81.6% |
Result the chances deserved: Manchester City 78% / 19% / Norwich City 3% (Poisson).
Starting line-ups
Manchester City (4-2-3-1): Rulli, Lewis, Khusanov, Reis, O'Reilly, Bouaddi, Kovačić, Allan, Cherki, Aït-Nouri, Samba.
Norwich City (4-2-3-1): Grimshaw, Fisher, Darling, Alves, Yongwa, Field, Wright, Crnac, Ben Slimane, Diallo, Kvistgaarden.
Norwich City subs: Maghoma (46', Diallo), Musaba (62', Crnac), Touré (71', Ben Slimane), McConville (71', Alves), Schwartau (85', Kvistgaarden). Norwich head coach: Philippe Clement. Yellow card: Fisher (30'). FotMob lists Norwich in a 4-2-3-1; The Guardian's live blog describes a deep 4-4-2. No VAR at this stage. Referee from Sky Sports and FotMob; Michael Salisbury was the fourth official (Sky Sports). Goal minutes from Sky Sports and FotMob; some outlets give slightly later times.
Key moments, move by move
- O'Reilly dinks a deep cross from the left towards the back post.
- Grimshaw comes for it, flaps, and the ball breaks loose on the right.
- Allan gets there first and loops it back into the middle.
- Samba, 17, stoops to head it in on his debut.
- Samba holds the ball up, draws two defenders and lays it off to Bouaddi.
- Bouaddi's pass from the middle of the pitch is diverted into Cherki's path.
- Cherki runs on, takes two touches as Grimshaw comes out, and finishes low with his weaker right foot.
- The ball reaches Allan on the left side of the box.
- He cuts inside Field, then turns back onto his left foot and beats him again.
- A low finish into the far corner, past Grimshaw.
- Aït-Nouri feeds Samba on the right side of the box.
- Samba takes a touch to set himself, about 20 yards out.
- He curls it into the bottom-right corner for his second.
- O'Reilly gets free on the left and crosses low into the middle.
- Lewis steps over it and fools the Norwich City defenders.
- Substitute McAidoo arrives at the back post and sidefoots it into the corner.
Width against a deep block, then Samba as the link on the break
- A slow start against a deep block. Norwich City sat deep (a 4-4-2, per The Guardian) and hoped to break. Clement said his side played "in a good structure", and it was 0–0 for 28 minutes.
- The full-backs and wide players made the chances. Three goals came from wide deliveries: O'Reilly's back-post dink for the first, Aït-Nouri's pass for Samba's second, and O'Reilly's low cross for McAidoo.
- Samba as a link, not just a finisher. The 17-year-old held the ball up and drew two defenders before Bouaddi's pass sent Cherki clear for 2–0. Clement said his side were "a bit naive to step forward" in that transition.
- Norwich City never tested Rulli. Four shots, none on target and 0.17 xG (Sky Sports, FotMob). Touré's 74th-minute finish was ruled out for offside. Manchester City scored five from six shots on target.
Recreate it in FM26
Manchester City · Manchester City's rotated 4-2-3-1 against a deep block · 4-2-3-1Show cardHide card
Manchester City's rotated 4-2-3-1 against a deep block
| Pos | Player | In Possession | Out of Possession |
|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Rulli | Goalkeeper | Goalkeeper |
| RB | Lewis | Inverted Full-Back | Full-Back |
| RCB | Khusanov | Centre-Back | Stopping Centre-Back |
| LCB | Reis | Ball-Playing Centre-Back | Covering Centre-Back |
| LB | O'Reilly | Wing-Back | Full-Back |
| RDM | Bouaddi | Deep-Lying Playmaker | Defensive Midfielder |
| LDM | Kovačić | Box-to-Box Playmaker | Defensive Midfielder |
| RW | Allan | Winger | Tracking Winger |
| AM | Cherki | Advanced Playmaker | Attacking Midfielder |
| LW | Aït-Nouri | Wide Playmaker | Tracking Winger |
| ST | Samba | Deep-Lying Forward | Centre Forward |
Team instructions
In Possession
- Passing DirectnessShorter
- Attacking WidthWider
- PatienceWork Ball Into Box
Out of Possession
- Line of EngagementHigh Press
- Defensive LineHigher
- Defensive TransitionCounter-Press
The idea: Keep the ball through two passers in the pivot, stretch a deep block with a Wing-Back on one side and a Wide Playmaker on the other, and use a Deep-Lying Forward who holds the ball up so a runner like Cherki can go past him.
What FM26 can't copy: FM26 won't give you Grimshaw's flap at 0–0; against a deep AI block, expect a longer wait for the first goal.
Our reading of this match in FM26 terms, not an exported tactic file. Role names as in FM26.
What if? Replay it with a different plan
Our best alternative plan: Formation 4-3-3, Semenyo on at 60' (for Allan). An extra runner from midfield against the deep block to shorten the flat first 28 minutes, and Semenyo for the last half-hour. Small gains: the reserves already won 5–0. It moves Manchester City's win chance from 78% to 81% (xG 1.77–0.17 becomes 1.97–0.19). Try your own changes to formation, pressing, approach and substitutions.
The game-changer Manchester City needed
Antoine Semenyo
Manchester City were flat for 28 minutes against a deep block and only broke through when Grimshaw flapped at a cross. Semenyo's running at full-backs and shooting from outside the box are the tools for that phase, and he sat on the bench all night.
Pedri
Before the opener, Norwich City's two banks of four closed the middle and Manchester City's control produced little. Pedri receives between the lines and plays forward on the half-turn, which is how a side opens a deep block without waiting for a goalkeeping error.
What the analysts said
“Not just for the two goals, for the entire performance he was good.”Enzo Maresca on Floyd Samba
“Then, on a transition, we get the second goal when we are a bit naive to step forward.”Philippe Clement
“It is hard to take five goals. Six shots on target, five goals.”Philippe Clement
“To get a debut like that is mind-blowing.”Floyd Samba
Five goals from modest chances: a night of finishing, not a statement.
What's happening. A City side with ten changes beat Norwich 5–0 in the League Cup. Seventeen-year-old Floyd Samba scored twice on debut, and Norwich never had a shot on target.
How it works. For 28 minutes Norwich's deep block held, and the breakthrough came from a goalkeeping error. After that Norwich had to come out, which gave City's wide players space. That is the usual shape of these games: the first goal against a deep block changes everything, because the block has to break up to chase the game.
What the shots say. There is no public shot-level xG for this game, so we built it from the play-by-play with our own model. City's chances were worth about one and a half goals, and they scored five: Samba's curler, Allan's low shot and McAidoo's finish were all better than the chances. Norwich created almost nothing.