The statistics behind Sam Morsy's impressive display against Coventry and what it means for Middlesbrough's midfield

The 29-year-old is predominantly viewed as someone who can break up play in the middle of the park while providing protection for his team’s defenders.

Yet Morsy has shown there is more to his game than first meets the eye, after starting five consecutive games for the Teessiders in the engine room.

Against Coventry on Tuesday night, the Egyptian international played a crucial pass to assist Britt Assombalonga’s opener in a 2-0 win.

We take a closer look at the midfielder’s performance against the Sky Blues and what it means for Boro’s midfield.

A defensive shield

Against Coventry, Boro recorded their highest possession figure in the league this season (57 per cent).

Despite dropping back when they didn’t have the ball, the Sky Blues still tried to play out from the back when goalkeeper Marko Marosi had the ball, yet Boro’s high press often forced Coventry to go long.

From there, Boro did an admirable job of winning the ball back and maintaining the pressure, with Morsy making nine interceptions during the match (more than any of his team-mates).

Morsy’s heat map also shows he didn’t just stay in the middle of the pitch but also shifted out wide to sweep up danger.

That allowed the Egyptian’s midfield partners, George Saville and Jonny Howson, to push further forward as Boro searched for a breakthrough.

Good on the ball as well

It hasn’t just been Morsy’s defensive attributes which have impressed Boro fans so far this season.

Against Coventry, it was Howson who took on more of a creative midfield role, attempting more passes than any of his Boro team-mates.

Yet Morsy still completed the most forward passes in a red shirt (19 out of the 22 he attempted) and often kept things ticking over in the middle of the park.

The Egyptian finished with a pass success rate of 85 per cent and showed great vision to pick out Assombalonga for the opening goal.

So what next?

Boro’s midfield three of Morsy, Saville and Howson have made Boro difficult to beat in recent weeks.

All three have been regular starters under Neil Warnock and are hard workers who aren’t afraid to make a tackle.

But, in recent seasons at least, none of the aforementioned players can really be described as goalscoring midfielders, or players who will create a handful of chances.

That could change of course, and Saville has already scored twice this season while finding himself in more advanced areas of the pitch.

With a shortage of strikers at the club, Warnock has said he will need other players to chip in with goals this term, so it was also encouraging to see wing-back Djed Spence convert a late chance on Tuesday.

At the start of the season, you may have thought picking Morsy, Saville and Howson together represented a conservative approach, yet the team has looked well-balanced in recent weeks.

All three have shown they have more strings to their bow than perhaps they are given credit for.

Boro fans will hope for more of the same as the season progresses.

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