Bournemouth win 2-0 on less ball and fewer good chances

Bournemouth beat Leeds 2-0 with less of the ball and fewer good chances than usual, and a late goal from Amine Adli sealed it.

Leeds thought they had scored in the eleventh minute at the Vitality Stadium, but Dominic Calvert-Lewin's effort was cancelled and the score stayed goalless. Bournemouth took the lead in the thirty-first minute, when Francisco Evanilson scored with Justin Kluivert credited with the assist. Leeds had more of the ball over the match, yet they left with nothing to show for it.

Bournemouth had 43% of the ball, well short of the 50.4% they average at home. Leeds had 57%, against their usual 47.3% on their travels. Possession is often read as a sign of who is on top, but here it reversed how the two sides normally share the ball, and the side with less of it took the points.

Expected goals is a way of adding up how likely each shot was to go in, so a total near 1 means roughly one goal's worth of good chances. Bournemouth's total was 0.96, against a home average of 2.21, so they made far fewer good chances than usual and still scored twice. Leeds' figure of 0.69 was close to their usual 0.77 away, so their chances were ordinary for them.

Both sides had ten shots, which is below Bournemouth's usual 14.4 at home but close to Leeds' usual 11.4 away. The real difference was accuracy. Bournemouth put four of their shots on target and Leeds managed one. J. Trafford made three saves, so the visitors' problem was finding the target more than the goalkeeper's work.

Bournemouth made the result safe in the ninetieth minute, when Amine Adli scored. Leeds made changes at sixty-five minutes and again at eighty-four, while Bournemouth brought players on at sixty-eight, seventy-six and eighty-eight. Both sides finished with two yellow cards, and nobody was sent off.

Evanilson had the most say, scoring the first goal and winning seven of his duels, which shows how much of his work came without the ball. Kluivert and Eli Kroupi each supplied chances for their team, and Kroupi also won four duels. On the Leeds side, T. Muharemović won ten duels at the back, the kind of work that rarely makes a headline.

Bournemouth's home record now stands at two wins, three draws and three defeats from eight games. Leeds sit seventh in the table on 11 points from eight matches.

Player of the matchEvanilson1 goal7.9

A. Adli1 goal7.5

E. Kroupi1 assist7.4

J. Kluivert1 assist7.1