- Analysing how Norwich were held to a draw by Portsmouth on Good Friday
- Looking at Jakov Medic’s performance at centre-back
- The kind of profile Norwich need to target in the summer window
Norwich City’s faint chance of making the Championship play-offs by the end of the season took another hit on Friday.
The Canaries came back from the final international break of the 2025/26 campaign and failed to pick up all three points, drawing 1-1 with Portsmouth at Carrow Road.
A late Pelle Mattsson own goal cancelled out the Danish central midfielder’s own strike to put the Canaries 1-0 up in the first half.
Why City failed to beat Portsmouth
Whilst you can isolate the incident and simply put the draw down to a moment of madness from Mattsson, the overall performance deserved nothing more than a point.
Philippe Clement had to make a host of changes to his starting line-up for injury and fitness reasons, bringing Harry Darling, Jakov Medic, Jacob Wright, and Oscar Schwartau into the team.
Norwich started with their third and fourth-choice centre-backs, no natural wide players, a right-footed right-back at left-back, and a central midfielder at right-back.
It was a pathwork starting line-up and the performance reflected that, as the Canaries created 0.44 xG and only had six shots in 98 minutes.
The failure to build up play effectively to create chances and score the second goal to finish the game off is the real reason why the Yellows came away with a draw, rather than pinning all the blame on Mattsson.
Analysing Medic’s performance against Portsmouth
With two games in four days, Clement opted to protect Jose Cordoba after he played 70 minutes for Panama on Tuesday, which meant that Jakov Medic started.
It was the Croatian defender’s first start in the league since the 1-1 draw with Sheffield United on 9th December.
The right-footed centre-back had to play on his unfavoured left-foot and looked out of place when building out from the back.
He closed his body off and passed back to Vladan Kovacevic, Harry Darling, or to one of the central midfielders far too many times, rather than opening up and playing down the left or forward.
Medic ended the game with just one pass into the final third completed. For context, Cordoba completed seven against Charlton and 12 against Southampton in his last two starts in the league.
Less passes into the final third meant less chances for the likes of Oscar Schwartau and Paris Maghoma to work their magic, which meant that Mathias Kvistgaarden was starved of service.
Norwich had Callum Doyle and Cordoba to share the left-footed centre-back duties under Johannes Hoff Thorup last season, but the Panamanian star is the only left-footed defender in the squad at present.
The profile Norwich desperately need to sign in the summer
Cordoba, who has revived his career at Carrow Road this season, had to be rested after his performance and goal for Panama earlier in the week.
His absence from the XI, though, illustrated the exact profile of player the club need to go and sign this summer.
When the season is over and the next transfer window is open for business, Clement must push Ben Knapper to sign a left-footed central defender.
Cordoba has had his injury and fitness issues since joining Norwich, starting 42 league games since the start of last season, which is why the Canaries need a specialist alternative in that position.
| 25/26 Championship | Jose Cordoba |
| Total Matches | 21 |
| Starts | 18 |
| Ball Recoveries | 99 |
| Ground Duel Success Rate | 58.7% |
| Aerial Duel Success Rate | 58.6% |
| Total Clearances Made | 114 |
| Interceptions | 19 |
| Passing Accuracy | 82.5% |
Too many Norwich matches this season have been spoiled by four right-footed players playing across the backline due to the lack of available left-footed players.
The play becomes slow and predictable, with every player wanting to go back to their right foot, which affects the flow of the attack.
That is why signing a left-footed central defender must be a priority for the Canaries in the upcoming summer window.
Experienced back-up for left-footed Cordoba
Given the current profiles within the squad, signing an experienced, possibly veteran, left-footed centre-back to step in for the odd game when Cordoba is not able to could be the best way to go for Norwich.
Having a left-footed veteran to call upon could complete a perfect defensive set-up for the Canaries next season.
They would have up-and-coming Ruairi McConville and prime-aged Harry Darling as the right-sided centre-backs and up-and-coming Cordoba alongside an experienced left-footed star on the left.
Finding that experienced left-footed defender who suits the playing style and would be content with being a back-up option is the tough part, though, and that is the task facing Knapper this summer.
