Bristol City had the ball, but Norwich had the chances

Norwich beat Bristol City 5-0 at Ashton Gate after making far better use of fewer touches.

Bristol City had more of the ball than they usually do at Ashton Gate, and still went home beaten by a distance the possession figure gives no hint of. Norwich were already ahead at the interval through Maghoma's goal in the 22nd minute, and then took the game away in the first few minutes after the restart. Darling scored in the 53rd minute and Brooks in the 56th, and Makama added a third in the 70th. Kvistgaarden's penalty in the 80th minute completed the rout.

Expected goals is a way of measuring the quality of chances, by adding up how likely each shot was to go in. Bristol City's total was 1.64, which is above their usual home figure of 1.32, so they did create decent openings. They simply could not turn those openings into goals. Norwich's total was 3.04, which is far above their away average of 1.09, and that gap is the real story of the afternoon.

Possession tells a different tale. Bristol City had the ball 55% of the time, well above their home norm of 45.3%, and they completed 411 of their 499 passes. Norwich had 45% of the ball, below their away usual of 51.3%, and yet they were the side that kept testing the goalkeeper. Bristol City's 15 shots sounds busy, but only 3 of them were on target, while Norwich hit the target 7 times from 17 attempts.

Darling was the most effective man on the pitch, scoring one of the quick goals after the break and finishing the game with a rating of 8.0, the highest on either side. Maghoma opened the scoring with a finish after Field's pass, and Musaba set up Makama's goal from the left, having also taken three shots himself. Each of those players did something that the match report can point to, which is more than can be said for most of the Bristol City attack on the day.

The defensive numbers are just as striking. Bristol City conceded five at home, where their usual figure is 1.3, and they have now allowed a goal in every one of their last three home matches. Norwich, meanwhile, have won three of their last six away games, and their attack scored five against an away average of 2.2, which tells you this was no ordinary result for either side.

Bristol City sit 15th in the table with 18 points from 14 games, while Norwich are 12th on the same total. Both sides have collected the same number of points so far, but Norwich's away form has done more to lift them up the table than Bristol City's home record has done for them.

Player of the matchH. Darling1 goal8.0

P. Maghoma1 goal7.9

A. Musaba1 assist7.7

A. Brooks1 goal7.7