Carlos Corberan hits out at fragile West Brom despite win v Swansea
West Brom boss Carlos Corberan has criticised his side’s defending, labelling it “fragile” after conceding two goals to turn a comfortable result into a tight one against Swansea.
The Baggies ended up 3-2 winners over Swansea on Saturday 12 August, but having been 3-0 up, they allowed their opponents back into the game at The Hawthorns.
Corberan has revealed that his team will need to improve their ball retention in key attacking scenarios, as well as their ability to create chances in transition, on top of their set-piece defending. It is these three areas that he will ensure his squad work hard on improving.
Speaking to the media following their 3-2 victory, and reported by the Express and Star, Corberan shared: “From the set pieces, we weren’t dominant today and we conceded two goals and a lot of chances that put the result at risk.”
“Instead of facing these moments with confidence and motivation, we start to decrease our levels and we became a more fragile team.”
He then went on to discuss their mistakes in the game, revealing: “In positional attacks today we didn’t use the advantages well enough that we created. We lost balls in clear, advantageous situations.
“In transitions, we didn’t manage enough well to create more chances. Defensively, they didn’t create any problems but from set-pieces, in the second half, we suffered more and we gave them possibilities to draw or win. They’re the three aspects we need to improve.”
Work still to be done
The result against Swansea was certainly an improvement on the Baggies’ last two games. Three goals, and more importantly three points, away from home will always provide a boost to a team who started the season poorly.
Corberan has not been overly critical of his side despite facing the early stages of a capitulation as they turned what should have been a simple result into one they had to fight hard to hold on to. Instead, he opted to present areas for improvement, which should see results in the coming weeks.
The boss’ focus on improving their weaknesses and avoiding further mistakes will set the side up well for the rest of the season. If they are able to fix the issues they are having at the start of the season, it makes the rest of the season much easier.
Aiming to improve rather than being annoyed at errors is the best position to take after a result like this one. Ultimately it is the result that matters, and it will now be important to see whether they can build on this, with a week before their next fixture.
In other West Brom news, the club are exploring a deal to bring a Portuguese attacker on loan.