Eyüpspor held more ball than usual but made fewer chances

Kasımpaşa won 1-0 at Esenyurt through Adrian Benedyczak's 37th-minute goal, and the visitors also had the better chances on the night.

Eyüpspor had more of the ball than they usually do, and still went home from Esenyurt empty-handed. They held 53% of possession, above their home average of 49.9% this season, but very little of it turned into danger. Kasımpaşa also had more of the ball than normal, 47% against an away average of 42.8%, so possession was not what decided this match.

The only goal came in the 37th minute, when Adrian Benedyczak finished a move ended by an assist from H. Hajradinovic. Expected goals, or xG, is a rough score for how good each chance was, where a figure near 1 means a chance a striker should usually convert. Kasımpaşa finished with 0.48, which is less than half their usual 1.02 on the road, so the winner did not come from a flood of good openings.

Eyüpspor took nine shots, six of them from inside the penalty area, yet only three were on target. Their xG of 0.35 sits well below their home average of 0.54, which means the shots they managed were mostly of the speculative kind. Nine attempts sounds like a lot until you see how few of them asked a serious question of the keeper.

The visiting goalkeeper, Andreas Gianniotis, had the busier evening. He made three saves to the home keeper's two, and that gap is the clearest sign of which side was asked the harder questions. Kasımpaşa were not comfortable throughout, but when the chances came they were the ones that mattered.

Eyüpspor sit 18th in the table, having conceded 22 goals in eight matches. They have lost five of their last six, and the sequence has been defined by heavy defeats rather than close ones. Their problem is not only creating chances but also keeping the opposition from creating them, and this result leaves that question unanswered.

Kasımpaşa are eighth, and their away form has been the steadier of the two: one defeat in their last six, with two wins and three draws. Their win means they now have 13 points from eight matches, while their goal tally of 12 is the most of the two clubs.

Player of the matchAdrian Benedyczak1 goal7.9

Zak Jules6 duels won7.5

Andreas Gianniotis3 saves7.5

Ali Yavuz Kol1 chance created7.5