Norwich City penalty shootout admission presents Leeds United with familiar Elland Road problem — YEP 14/5/24
By Joe Donnohue
Norwich City boss David Wagner acknowledges that penalties
are a possibility against Leeds United in their Championship play-off
semi-final second leg.
The Canaries head coach says he hopes to stay in the game as
long as possible at Elland Road, believing that the longer Norwich are in the
tie, the better their chance of progression to the final, which could provide
insight into the team's approach on Thursday night.
Wagner successfully won promotion via the play-offs with
Huddersfield Town in 2017, winning two penalty shootouts en route to the
Premier League after a 0-0 draw with Sheffield Wednesday in the opening leg of
the play-off semi-final, the same result Leeds managed against his Norwich
outfit last Sunday.
Wagner's men drew 1-1 with Wednesday during the second leg
at Hillsborough, taking the game to penalties, before securing promotion after
a 0-0 draw against Reading in the final.
Asked whether he would be placing much emphasis on
spot-kicks in the lead up to Norwich's Elland Road visit this week, Wagner
remained coy, preferring to draw on his previous experience of the
end-of-season competition with the Terriers.
"Obviously as you know I've experienced the playoffs.
[We were] quite successful and I know that penalties can play a part," he
said. "So the truth is, everybody knows this. I don't think I speak about
[it as a] secret, every second, every minute when we play at Elland Road and we
are in the game, it's a minute in our favour."
Wagner's approach, given the success Championship
counterparts have had whilst employing it against Leeds in recent fixtures, may
be to frustrate the home side, relinquish possession and set up in a deep
block, perhaps even relying on the lottery of a penalty shootout to clinch a
spot in the play-off final.
Leeds struggled against Blackburn Rovers and Sunderland
during the run-in, teams who allowed United to see plenty of the ball but
defended their own box resolutely, and came away with just one point from those
two home matches. Norwich showed their capability to do so with their mid-block
in the first leg of this year's play-off tie, limiting Leeds to chances
cumulatively worth a meagre 0.30 Expected Goals (xG) at Carrow Road.