Sheffield Wednesday slumped to a second successive defeat at the weekend as they succumbed to Cardiff City at Hillsborough.
The visitors took the lead with a quickfire double inside the opening ten minutes, both Robert Gratzel and Junior Hoilett getting on the scoresheet before Tom Lees fired back with what was to be a consolation strike in the 18th minute.
But it is his presence in the defence which could actually be hindering the Owls this season as it has meant one man has subsequently dropped to the bench.
On the Chalkboard
Wednesday’s defence has often been a strong point under Garry Monk with the side currently ranking as the third-best in the division having conceded only 25 goals from just as many matches.
But they have now let in five goals in the past week alone which has to be a cause for concern as the squad appeared to be building some sort of upward momentum following four wins in six matches.
To go from back-to-back clean sheets to letting in five goals overnight is quite shocking too, but what’s the difference?
Julian Borner’s presence.
The German was subbed on early in the 1-0 victory over Bristol City and helped restrict a normally goal-laden side to just three shots, only one of which on target, per WhoScored.
Since then, he has returned to the bench, and the Owls have leaked aplenty.
Before the weekend, Peter A. Lohmann revealed how much better Monk’s side is with Borner playing…
With the 28-year-old playing, Wednesday concede just 1.14 chances under expected goals compared to 1.55 without him featuring, that’s quite an alarming gap and could suggest that Borner should indeed be starting.
Therefore, Monk is only getting his just deserts for continuing to put faith in his skipper over the Owls’ summer addition.
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