Beşiktaş had 59% of the ball, fewer shots, and drew 2-2 a man short

Beşiktaş drew 2-2 with Crystal Palace after Umit Akdag's late red card, and their chances were thinner than their share of the ball suggests.

Beşiktaş and Crystal Palace finished 2-2, but the match turned on the last quarter hour. Junior Olaitan levelled it in the 73rd minute, and four minutes later Umit Akdag, already booked in the 66th, was sent off, leaving the home side to see out the finish a man short.

Palace had been ahead before that. Wilfred Ndidi gave Beşiktaş the lead in the 45th minute, with Salih Özcan providing the assist, and Yeremy Pino levelled six minutes after the restart, set up by Anan Khalaili. Jean-Philippe Mateta then put Palace in front in the 55th minute, having seen an earlier goal of his, in the sixth, ruled out by VAR.

On the surface, Beşiktaş had the better of the ball. They kept 59% of possession, above the 55.6% they usually keep in home games. Their shots tell a different story. They managed five, against an average of 18.5 in their home matches, and their expected goals (xG, a measure of chance quality based on where and how each shot was taken) came to 0.71, well short of the 3.43 they usually produce.

Palace had the ball less often but made more of what they had. They held 41% of possession and took eight shots, six of them from inside the penalty area. Their xG was 0.42, which is below the 1.52 a team typically produces in this league, so their chances were better placed than their shot count alone suggests.

Both sides scored more than their chances warranted. Beşiktaş's chances were worth less than a goal in total, yet they scored twice, and Palace's were worth less than half a goal, yet they also scored twice. Beşiktaş conceded two, against the 0.6 they usually concede, so the goals against them were the part of the night least in keeping with their usual form.

Once Akdag had gone, Beşiktaş had to hold a 2-2 score with ten men, and they did. Four goals is more than the 2.9 the league usually sees in a match, so this was an open game by those standards, even if it did not look like one from the touchline. Mateta, who had a goal ruled out early, got the one that counted.

Beşiktaş are seventh in the table with six points from two games. Palace are 18th with three points from the same number of matches.

Player of the matchJ. Olaitan1 goal7.7

J. Mateta1 goal7.6

W. Ndidi1 goal7.3

S. Özcan1 assist7.0