Manchester City 5- 0 Norwich: Canaries have their wings clipped
Well, that was a bit of a kick in the teeth, but when you get drawn against one of the most expensive sides in world football you know you might be on for a disappointing evening.
Norwich arrived at the Etihad with the luxury of being able to treat the League Cup as an opportunity rather than an obligation, and as has become a regular occurrence this season, Big Phil rang the changes from Saturday’s heartbreak at Boro, hoping that the players that came in could stake a claim for Bolton on Sunday lunchtime
Given the never-ending injury list from last season, it was a sensible decision; unfortunately, Manchester City were still Manchester City. Even with Enzo Maresca making 10 changes of his own from City’s derby win over United, the gulf in quality eventually became impossible for Norwich to disguise as they cruised into a 5th round tie with Brighton.
And perhaps the most frustrating part for Norwich was that initially it didn’t seem like they would simply roll over and expose their bellies for the opening half hour. City were disciplined and sat in a compact shape which denied Citeh the space they wanted between the lines and tried to make life awkward for a side that, despite all their rotation, still contained players that are accustomed to controlling games.
Man City had, as expected, the lion’s share of possession but Norwich stood firm and caused the home side frustration by the lack of early breakthrough. But unfortunately resistance can be broken, and the first goal eventually arrived.
The breakthrough came in the 29th minute from 17-year-old debutant Floyd Samba as he headed past Dan Grimshaw from Allan’s cross, not a bad way to start your footballing career.
Unfortunately, City weren’t happy with just the one goal as three minutes later they made it two; some excellent link-up play between Ayyoub Bouaddi and Ryan Cherki put the tie at an end as Cherki drove forward before firing a low finish past Grimshaw.
Suddenly the structure that had caused frustration for the home side was left reeling as it had been punctured twice in the space of three minutes with frightening accuracy.
At half-time there was still an argument that Norwich could make the second half uncomfortable. Instead City decided that they had had enough of the plucky resistance and killed the contest almost immediately.
Allan, who was also making his competitive debut, cut inside from the left and fizzed a low shot beyond Grimshaw just three minutes after the restart and now it became damage limitation time, and as proved last Saturday, Norwich can make a go of it against most opponents and keep the score respectable.
However, against Manchester City that is a dangerous assumption.
Samba added his second of the night in the 54th minute, seeing a wonderful curling shot fly past the helpless Grimshaw after being picked out by Rayan Aït-Nouri
4-0, and the young striker had announced himself to the home faithful in spectacular fashion, and Norwich were left trying to prevent a cricket score
But there were positives to cling on to for the 2500 beleaguered Norwich fans as the yellows continued to work hard and changes from the bench allowed more players to experience the occasion, and Mo Toure had the ball in the net when he finished in the 75th-minute only for the linesman’s flag to cruelly cut short the celebrations for an offside
It wouldn’t have changed the outcome, but it would have made the score a bit more respectable
City, clearly furious that Norwich dared have an opportunity to score, decided to finally put the gloss on the cherry on top of the cake as Ryan McAidoo finished in the final minute of normal time to emphasise that resilience will be punished.
The numbers on the scoreboard tell the story, but so do the stats: Man City had 63% possession and attempted 761 passes to Norwich’s 385
14 shots with 6 on target, while Norwich had 4 shots and none were on target unless you count Toure’s offside strike
12 of City’s 14 shots were inside the penalty area compared to just one from Norwich, which tells us all we really need to know.
It was a case of being comprehensively outplayed, but only once the home side had established control, which shouldn’t be viewed as a disaster
Yes, they conceded 5, but for 29 or so minutes they caused City frustration, and there will be lessons learnt from this. Clement didn’t pretend that the result hurt in his post-match assessment, but it contained an important distinction.
He felt that Norwich had good structure and really made City work for the first goal while acknowledging how difficult it became once the breakthrough occurred. He also pointed to the experience that Norwich’s young squad could take from an evening like this.
And perhaps that’s a sensible way to view it. Of course there will be critics online who will shout and scream that we should have played our first team and left the changes for Sunday lunchtime, but clearly to Clement and most of us Norwich fans the league is and always will be the priority.
Clement clearly wanted to protect some of his established players while offering the opportunity to others to impress and prove themselves.
For the likes of Fisher, Alves, Yongwa and Wright, plus the others who started Thursday night at the Etihad was an examination. Alas, it was a brutally difficult one, and Man City aren’t the sort who give marks for effort
Unfortunately, the Cup run is over until January when we get back into the FA Cup
But the league, more importantly, carries on, and the Championship, as shown recently, takes no prisoners, and after a night in Manchester where the gulf between promotion ambitions and the level that Man City’s B team are at was laid bare, the Canaries can return to the competition that matters most with a very clear reminder of exactly where the next challenge lies.