West Brom loanee Filip Krovinovic shows why there’s better options
[ad_pod ]
This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
West Brom continued their unbeaten run in the Championship with a 4-2 victory over league strugglers Huddersfield last Sunday.
The Terriers, who sit second from bottom, gave Slaven Bilic’s men a scare on the odd occasion by taking the lead twice.
But anyone who has followed the west Midlands club this season knows their ability to turn things around – it’s now 15pts from 16 that have been gained from a losing position.
Watch West Bromwich Albion Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below
A change at half-time saw Filip Krovinovic, starting his first league game since the 1-1 draw at Derby County last month, replaced by West Ham loanee Grady Diangana, who changed the course of the match entirely.
His two assists helped Albion fire three past Huddersfield without reply, having been 2-1 down at half-time.
And the first-half showing from the Croatian playmaker only showed why he had been cut from the starting XI in recent times and why he shouldn’t start this weekend.
On the Chalkboard
Krovinovic was swapped in the lineup by Matheus Pereira, earning his first start, for their next match against Blackburn Rovers and the Sporting Lisbon man assisted two of their three goals – highlighting how he could become a surprising option in the number ten role.
He moved centrally after the introduction of Diangana, and that’s when West Brom’s fortunes changed, allowing the young winger to thrive out on the wing. Pereira also impressed, and he assisted the fourth and final goal of the match.
Remember the ‘golden goal’ rule? Find out why some fans want it back in the video below…
The man he replaced was poor in the first half last weekend, recording a rating of just 5.96 after failing to register any key passes or dribbles.
That is undoubtedly the last we will see of him for the foreseeable future in that position as the Brazilian proved again just how good he is central, as mentioned above.
Bilic clearly saw that he was the issue in midfield and made a change as a result and it paid off as the Baggies came out on top in a 4-2 victory.
It just means that his Croatian counterpart faces the tough task of trying to get back into the side going forward.
This was a big opportunity for Krovinovic to stake his claim after being left out for a few weeks but he did himself no favours ahead of their next outing.