Cruzeiro won with fewer chances than usual, Remo's shots off target

Fabrício Bruno's 45th-minute goal settled a 1-0 win over Remo, but the numbers show a home side that made less than usual and a visitor that had the ball without making it count.

Fabrício Bruno's goal in the 45th minute was the only one in Cruzeiro's 1-0 win over Remo at the Mineirão, and it came from a side that made fewer chances than it usually does. Expected goals, a rough measure of how dangerous a shot was, came to 0.86 for Cruzeiro. Matheus Pereira provided the assist, and the goal did the job that the chance count did not.

At home, Cruzeiro usually produce 1.52 expected goals, so 0.86 is a clear dip. They had 47% of the ball, against a home average of 55.1%, and their shots fell short of the 15.4 they normally take. Less possession and fewer chances sounds like a poor night, but a win is a win when the one chance that counted went in.

Remo had more of the ball than they are used to, 53% against an away average of 45.9%, and they took the same number of shots as their hosts. The difference lay in what happened to those shots. Only two were on target, six were off target, and their expected goals of 0.28 sits far under the 0.99 they usually create on the road.

The league context makes the night look thinner still. Teams in this division average 15.1 shots a match and 2.8 goals a game, and this one had a single goal and both sides below the shot average. Remo's goalkeeper, Marcelo Rangel, made three saves, which tells you the visitors were forced to make the most of very little, and Remo also picked up three yellow cards without a sending off.

Matheus Pereira had the most key passes of any Cruzeiro player, and Bruno, who scored, was on target with every shot he took. For Remo, Jája Silva was the busiest attacker, with three shots and the most dribbles of anyone in the side, but none of his efforts reached the net. The chances that did come were spread thinly across both teams.

Cruzeiro sit fourth in the table on 51 points from 31 matches, with 15 wins at the Mineirão and elsewhere combined. Remo are 19th with 26 points, from five wins and 15 defeats in the same number of games.

Cruzeiro have won four of their last six matches, and this was their third consecutive home result in that sequence. Remo have lost their last three, and their away record reads five wins from 31 matches, which leaves them with plenty of ground to make up.

Player of the matchFabrício Bruno1 goal7.9

Matheus Pereira1 assist7.6

L. Villalba1 shot on target7.2

Jonathan3 duels won7.2