Manchester City handled Round 3 business with a dominant 66% share of the ball and a purpose to match. The hosts attempted 761 passes and completed 708, dwarfing Norwich City’s 385 and 314. That control fed territory, with 66 final third entries to 29 and an 85% success rate in the final third phase. It translated directly to threat, as City fired 14 shots to 4 and landed 6 on target. Norwich did not register a single shot on target.

Quality told inside the box where City produced 12 shots to Norwich’s 1 and recorded 30 touches in the penalty area to 4. Big chances read 4 to 0 and the holders converted 3 of those. Five goals from six efforts on target is ruthless finishing by any standard. Long-ball efficiency underlined the accuracy, with City hitting 23 of 31 at 74% compared with Norwich’s 16 of 42 at 38%. As the numbers stack up, so did the scoreline.

Norwich’s fight shows in duels, not in shots

Norwich’s night still had graft written all over it. The visitors led the duel count at 59% and won 48 of 76 ground duels. They also made 31 tackles to City’s 13 and posted 8 interceptions to 4. Recoveries were near level at 47 to 50, which shows the Canaries did contest second balls. Yet the defensive workload rarely flipped the pitch in their favour.

Passing into dangerous areas proved costly, with an error leading to a goal recorded against them. Supply from wide was limited at 1 accurate cross from 10 and progress by air stuck at 38% long-ball accuracy. Final third entries stopped at 29 and offsides crept to 2 when they tried to stretch play. Corners finished 3 to 2 for Norwich, but there was no end product. With 4 total shots and 0 on target, the visitors could not turn effort into chances.

How the goals arrived

The breakthrough came on 29 minutes when Floyd Samba guided a header in from Allan’s measured delivery. Two minutes later Rayan Cherki finished a fast break, slipped in by Ayyoub Bouaddi and steering low across the keeper. After the interval, City started fast and Allan added the third with a left-foot finish on 48 minutes after Rayan Aït-Nouri’s pass. Aït-Nouri supplied again on 54 minutes, feeding Samba to tuck in his second. The fifth arrived at 90 minutes as Ryan McAidoo swept home high from Nico O’Reilly’s assist.

Kellen Fisher was booked on 30 minutes for a foul in a first half where Norwich spent long spells without the ball. City and Norwich both set up in 4-2-3-1, and the pattern rarely shifted from there. Half-time brought changes as McAidoo replaced Cherki for City and Paris Maghoma came on for Norwich. Anthony Musaba entered on 62 minutes, while a 71st-minute double change saw Allan make way for Kaden Braithwaite and Norwich refresh with Mohamed Touré and Ruairi McConville. Oscar Schwartau featured late for the visitors, and referee Ruebyn Ricardo added one minute at the break and two at the end.

MVP spotlight: Allan’s 71 minutes that set the tone

Allan was the standout and rightly the match MVP. His Sofascore Rating registered at 8.9, built on a goal and an assist in 71 sharp minutes. He completed 24 of 30 passes, hit 3 of 3 long balls and created a big chance. The midfielder also produced 1 key pass and carried the ball 18 times with 60.8 metres of progressive distance. He won 5 duels, drew 2 fouls and still found time for an interception.

Around him, Floyd Samba posted an 8.7 after a brace and constant movement in the box. Rayan Cherki’s 45 lively minutes brought a goal and a 7.8, while captain Mateo Kovačić matched that Sofascore Rating while controlling tempo with 88 of 94 passes completed. The centre-backs were metronomic as Vitor Reis completed 147 of 149 passes and Abdukodir Khusanov 112 of 118, both landing at 7.6. Rayan Aït-Nouri’s line shows two assists and three key passes, a tidy contribution to the onslaught. Those individual displays sat neatly on a team Average Rating of 8.63 to Norwich’s 5.94.