PSV's shots came in plenty, but the chances were ordinary

PSV Eindhoven beat Porto 1-0 with more of the ball and more shots, though by the league's measure their chances were no better than usual.

Eighteen shots, and only one of them went in. PSV Eindhoven beat FC Porto 1-0 at the Estádio do Dragão in the Champions League, and their total was well above the league's usual 14.59 shots per side. A shot is any attempt on goal, so this was a visiting side willing to test the goalkeeper often.

Not every shot is equal, which is where expected goals comes in. It is a figure that gives each chance a rough likelihood of going in, based on where it was taken and how. PSV's total was 1.69, slightly under the league's usual 1.75 for a side. So the volume was above normal, but the quality of the chances was not.

Porto finished on 1.4 by the same measure, from 12 shots, 7 of them taken inside the box. PSV had the ball for 60% of the match, and their passing shows the same pattern. They made 616 passes and completed 529 of them, while Porto made 421 and completed 339. Keeping possession was theirs, but it did not translate into a heavier chance count than usual.

The only goal came in the 57th minute, scored by Guus Til with Sven Mijnans credited with the assist. Til's match rating of 8.2 was the highest on the sheet, and he had four shots, one of which was on target. Mijnans made four key passes, meaning passes that led directly to a shot, which is the kind of final ball that often decides a game like this.

Porto had their own openings. Alberto Baio won eight of his duels, which are contests for the ball between two players, and he had two shots, both on target. Their attack was thinner overall, though, with an expected goals figure below the league's usual level and only a handful of attempts reaching the goalkeeper. The chances they made were fewer and less dangerous than PSV's, at least by the measure.

Porto made three changes at 58 minutes, bringing on Samuel Aghehowa, Oskar Pietuszewski and Gabri Veiga, and a fourth at 69. PSV waited until the 74th minute for their first change, then made the rest between the 81st and 88th minutes. Those late changes did not alter the scoreline, which stayed at the one goal scored early in the second half.

One goal in a Champions League night is well below the league's usual 3.57 per match. PSV leave Porto with the win, and the game's only goal is the one that came from the 57th minute, the moment that decided it.

Player of the matchG. Til1 goal8.2

S. Dest1 chance created7.8

S. Mijnans1 assist7.7

Yarek Gasiorowski3 duels won7.6