Tactical breakdown: How Middlesbrough had to be patient against Coventry and kept the pressure on before Britt Assombalonga's opener

The Sky Blues conceded four goals at Blackburn after an early red card before their trip to Teesside, but proved a tougher nut to crack against Neil Warnock’s side.

Despite not being able to make a breakthrough until the 81st minute, Boro appeared to be in control for most of the match.

Here, we break down how the game played out:

Boro defending from the front

As Warnock pointed out after the match, his side’s defending started from the front.

Despite dropping back when they conceded possession, Coventry were still keen to try and play out from the back, yet Boro were quick to react.

As shown by figure one, two of Coventry’s three centre-backs often dropped back to try and receive the ball from goalkeeper Marko Marosi.

Boro’s response was for George Saville to join Britt Assombalonga and Patrick Roberts to pin back the visitors’ three central defenders, preventing a progressive pass into midfield.

Marosi was therefore often forced to kick the ball long and subsequently concede possession.

Boro’s tactic clearly worked as Coventry’s passing accuracy from the game at the Riverside was just 69.21 per cent – their lowest of the season so far.

Coventry tough to break down

When Boro did win the ball back, the Teessiders clearly found it difficult to break their opponents down.

Like Boro, Coventry play with a back three and wing-backs, yet their system often became a 5-4-1 set-up out of possession.

As shown by figure two, wing-backs Ryan Giles and Sam McCallum regularly dropped deap when Boro had the ball, while attacking midfielders Jamie Allen and Jordan Shipley also retreated.

The tactic made it difficult for Boro to attack down the flanks or penetrate their opponents when the Sky Blues got back into shape.

Bettinelli going direct

In contrast to Coventry’s game plan of trying to pass out from the back, Boro took a more direct approach when the ball found goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli.

As shown by figure three, which shows Boro’s top ten passing links between two players, most of their passes were played through the middle of the pitch.

It’s an area which became quite congested when Allen and Shipley tucked in to help out Coventry midfielders Gus Hamer and Ben Sheaf, which probably explains why there weren’t many clear-cut chances.

The problem Boro faced when they did go direct was that Assombalonga was often competing against Coventry’s three centre-backs in the air, or had to drop deeper into midfield (as shown by figure four).

It meant when the Teessiders did finally get the ball under control, the visitors often had a chance to form a solid defensive block.

Space eventually opens up

As the second half wore on and players evenitably tired, the game did become more open.

After a frustrating 81 minutes, Warnock’s side delivered under pressure to claim all three points, with Sam Morsy playing an excellent pass for Assombalonga to break the deadlock.

As Coventry pushed for an equaliser, substitute Marcus Browne then picked out Djed Spence who finally had space to run into on the right.

It was a case of being patient and waiting for the chances to come.

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