David Wagner's Norwich City were punished by Burnley in a self-inflicted 3-0 Championship defeat. Ben Lee breaks down the tactical analysis.

Ben is a City season ticket holder and author of the NCFC Analysis twitter account, which unpicks every Canaries' game with an analytical report highlighting tactical strengths and weaknesses.

This is what Ben made of Wagner's first league defeat since replacing Dean Smith.

Norwich versus Burnley

Score: 0 - 3

Possession (%): 52 - 48

xG: 0.44 - 1.21

· Burnley's positional play and superiority in the build-up.

· Norwich's build-up problems.

· Why Norwich struggled to cope with transitions.

· The impact of Núñez.

Base formations:

Both sides were in 4-2-3-1 base formations, but rotations within the game meant these would change between different phases of play. Bastien (defensive midfielder) was replaced by Gudmundsson (winger), so Brownhill occupied a deeper role than he has in previous games.

The Pink Un:

With Burnley in possession, Cullen (24) dropped alongside Ekdal (18) to create a back three. The full backs – Roberts (14) and Maatsen (29) – inverted into the half spaces, while Gudmundsson (7) and Zaroury (19) occupied the wide zones.

Josh Brownhill performed the role of a single pivot but was often joined by one of the inverted full backs; this created a 3-2 build-up structure.

Norwich's pressing strategy involved overloading and blocking the central corridor by employing a narrow 4-1-3-2 pressing structure against Burnley's 3-3-4 build-up shape.

The Pink Un:

Norwich pressed with a front two of Pukki and Sargent, while Sara marked Brownhill (8) to prevent Burnley from escaping the press through the central zone.

Dowell and Hernandez stayed close to the inverted full backs, while Kenny McLean occupied the space between Norwich's back line and the pressing five. McLean was ready to join the press when Barnes (10) or Tella (23) dropped deeper.

When Cullen (24) received a pass, Hernandez left Roberts (14) to press. When Beyer (36) received a pass, Dowell left Maatsen (29) to press. Sara was tasked with picking up the free inverted full back.

When viewing Norwich's press alongside Burnley's build-up, Kompany's strategy becomes clear. Cullen (24) dropping into a back three created a 3v2 against Pukki and Sargent; this meant they always had a free man in the first phase of their build-up.

Roberts (14) and Maatsen (29) pinned Hernandez and Dowell to reduce the pressure on the back three, thereby maintaining the superiority against Pukki and Sargent.

The Pink Un:

Burnley's inverted full backs, Roberts (14) and Maatsen (29), played a crucial role in the game. By pinning Hernandez and Dowell, Burnley's build-up structure was more resistant to Norwich's press. The inverted full backs also provided extra central passing options to bypass the narrow press.

Additionally, inverted full backs are beneficial during defensive transitions (when the opposing side win possession). They ensure the distances between players within the attacking structure are small, thereby increasing the team’s ability to counter press (pressing at the point of a defensive transition).

One of the key features of Kompany's side is a concept most associated with Spanish football, Juego De Posicion. Translating to positional play, this Spanish concept can be seen in the teams of Pep Guardiola, Mikel Arteta and former Spain manager Luis Enrique. It involves dividing the pitch into 20 separate zones. Rotations then occur between these zones.

The Pink Un:

A key rule of positional play is that no more than three players are allowed on the same horizontal line, and no more than two players are allowed on the same vertical line. In possession, once Burnley moved into these zones, they were able to manipulate Norwich's press.

Rotations between the zones drag opposing players out of position, leaving space for off the ball runs. Burnley were able to manipulate Norwich's press throughout the game, and often found a route to escape.

Burnley's use of positional play, combined with their numerical superiority (3v2) in the build-up, rendered Norwich's press ineffective.

With Norwich in possession, they often transitioned into a 3-3-1-3. While Burnley inverted their full backs in possession, Norwich's full backs stayed high and wide. Burnley pressed in a 4-3-3, with Zaroury (19), Barnes (10) and Tella (23) creating a 3v3 against the first phase of Norwich's build-up.

Burnley's man-to-man press was intense and well organised. Cullen (24) was ready to jump onto Sara, Gudmundsson (7) was ready to press Giannoulis, and Brownhill (8) was ready to press Aarons.

If McLean joined Sara in midfield, Barnes (10) would block passing lanes towards him.

Burnley shifted from side to side to trap Norwich against both touchlines; by trying to play around the press, Norwich often played into Burnley's trap.

McLean often moved into one of the centre backs zones to allow the centre back and full back on that side to advance. However, when McLean dropped deep, Sara was the only passing option in midfield as Sargent and Hernandez often remained too high. Norwich's structure in possession was weak.

There are numerous problems with this structure. In possession, it allowed Burnley to create a significant area of numerical superiority in midfield (6v2), making it very hard to escape the press through the central zone.

Additionally, due to the vast gaps between players, it was difficult for Norwich to counter press in their own half. As a result, Norwich were exposed every time possession was lost.

In the second half, Norwich's attacking structure improved when Marcelino Núñez was introduced. Núñez provided an additional passing option for Norwich to escape Burnley's press. The change also allowed McLean to drop deeper without compromising the team’s midfield structure.

The Pink Un:

Ultimately, Burnley were better than Norwich in both their press, and in their build-up. With the width Norwich's full backs create under Wagner, they cannot afford to lose possession so cheaply in their own half.

You can read all Ben's previous analysis of Norwich City games via his social media accounts.

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