Stat Attack from Liverpool victory over Bournemouth
Written by Matt Stevenson
Here is the xG from the Liverpool game, which was dull, with only a few noteworthy chances. The first attempt was a clever backheel from Evanilson that Allison did well to save at his near post (rated 1 in 10). In the 25th minute, Gakpo had a shot blocked (1 in 7). The only other chances in the half were low-rated, and the xG at the break was AFCB 0.15, Liverpool 0.41.
Two of the game’s big chances happened early in the second half. First, Christie met a Rayan cross but poked it wide from close range (2 in 5), and then Liverpool scored. It was good play down the right by Gakpo; his cross found Wirtz with Silva positioned to cut out the cross and not marking, Hill blocked, but the ball fell to Isak, who was unmarked (presumably it should have been Silva or Adams) and he scored from 6 yards (nearly 3 in 5). Liverpool now sat back protecting the lead whilst AFCB struggled to make any clear chances. The two best chances fell to Liverpool on the break, an Isak shot that was blocked (1 in 7), and in the last minute a good chance for Koumas (1 in 4), but he shot weakly at Petrovic. The final xG was AFCB 0.79, Liverpool 1.65 (although the individual chances only add up to 1.56), with Understat having a smaller margin of 0.94 vs 1.29.
Man of the Match against Liverpool?
Antonio
Hill
Adams
Rayan
Someone else
Someone else
Interestingly, there was only one change from the team that beat Real Sociedad, so Rose must have had faith that the team had sufficient energy levels with the international break coming up. The change was enforced because Kluivert had an injury. He was replaced by Christie. Rose waited until the 75th minute for a triple substitution, with Christie (10), Smith (15) and Tavernier (16) replaced by Cook (4), who went to right back, Brooks (7), who went to left wing and Jebbison (29), who played higher, with Evanilson (9) dropping deeper. Unless Opta has made a mistake, Jebbison’s average position was very high. With 2 minutes left of normal time, there was a double sub, with Gannon-Doak replacing Rayan (although the average position was more central) and Tóth replacing Adams as we tried to push on, although neither player had much time to influence the game.
Silva attempted most passes with 54. Scott attempted most passes in the opposition’s half (33) and in the final third with 17. We averaged 78% pass completion. Of the starting 11, only Adams had over 85% success.
AFCB attempted 27 crosses, being successful with 6 (2 from Truffert).
AFCB created 8 chances (1 big). Liverpool created 8 chances, 0 big. Scott created 3 chances, with Rayan creating the big chance.
We had 9 attempts (1 big), noting that chances can be provided after saves, deflections, or a defensive error and not created. We hit the target 3 times. Liverpool had 12 attempts, 1 big and hit the target 3 times. Our big chances fell to Christie, with a chance similar to his first goal versus Lincoln.
The Opta expected goals had Christie as most likely to score (0.50) followed by Evanilson (0.16) and Scott (0.16). For assists, Rayan was top (0.35), followed by Tavernier (0.11) and Scott (0.07)
AFCB won 11 of 17 tackles. Both Evanilson and Rayan won 2 from 2.
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AFCB won 9 of 28 aerials duals. Truffert won 3 from 4 and Silva won 2 from 2.
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Hill made most defensive actions with 14. Silva made the most clearances (4). Hill made 4 blocks. Adams and Silva both made 2 interceptions, and Petrovic made most recoveries (12).
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The foul count was AFCB 11, Liverpool 11. Adams made 3 fouls and Scott was fouled 5 times.
Fouls.png
Your say…
JT_AFCB
We were severely hampered in this game by not having a fit number ten; it just didn’t work with Ryan Christie in that position. And that’s not a criticism of Rose because I myself advocated trying him there.
If Kluivert isn’t fit for Chelsea, then the number ten needs to be an attack-minded player. Whether he drops Eva deeper with another playing upfront, plays Tav centrally with another on the wing, or just plays Brooks in the number ten role. It just can’t be Christie again; great centre-mid, but the balance was all wrong. – To join the conversation, please click here.