EFL pundit highlights Carlos Corberan’s impact on West Bromwich Albion win over Rotherham United | OneFootball

Pundit Matt Jarvis was impressed with West Bromwich Albion head coach Carlos Corberan’s substitutions in the 3-0 win over Rotherham United at The Hawthorns on Saturday.

It was a dominant performance from the Baggies as they eased past the Millers. Jed Wallace opened the scoring in the 20th minute, before he turned provider to set up substitute Grady Diangana to double the lead with his first touch after coming on in the second half.

Fellow substitute Brandon Thomas-Asante then had his penalty saved by Viktor Johansson, but he was on hand to convert the rebound to seal all three points for the hosts.

After losing their opening game under Corberan, Albion have won five in a row and moved up to 16th in the table, five points clear of the relegation zone and five from the play-offs as they continue to climb the league.

It has been a vast improvement under the 39-year-old, who has significantly tightened them up defensively but has also managed to get more of a goal threat from the club’s previously under performing attackers.

Corberan’s tactical changes have not gone unnoticed and Jarvis highlighted a number of key decisions that made an impact in the victory.

“They were crying out for a centre forward, a main centre forward,” Jarvis said on ITV’s English Football League highlights show.

“Daryl Dike’s come in, in his first start he’s playing well, he’s that focal point for them. But then for substitutions, you look at that it’s so important, especially in this league.

“Jed Wallace had a great finish, but you know he’s got such a really good left foot.

“With substitutions, you look at Tom Rogic who was on the bench last week, he came on and scored, this week he started and had two assists.

“Grady Diangana came on and scored, Brandon Thomas-Asante came on and scored, I think that these are the things that define seasons when you have players that can come on and make an impact and that’s exactly what they’ve done at the moment.”

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The Verdict

Corberan has made an outstanding impact at West Brom so far.

He has implemented the same defensive solidity and organisation he became known for at Huddersfield and it has given the Baggies a platform on which to build.

But as Jarvis points out, he has also found a way to get the club’s attacking players thriving and has been able to make key decisions within games to affect outcomes.

The Spaniard is an excellent tactican and with Albion closing in on the top six, it would not be a surprise to see them make a play-off push in the second half of the season.

We knew that West Brom had a talented squad, but Corberan is now getting the best out of them and their winning run is showing no signs of stopping.