Brighton had 20 shots and no goal at FK Jablonec

A goalless draw in which Brighton held the ball and took the shots, but the chances were worth less than usual.

Brighton took 20 shots at Stadion Střelnice on Thursday and still came away with nothing. The league's average side takes 12.4 shots a match, so Brighton were well above the norm for the volume of their attacks. The game ended 0-0 with FK Jablonec, and the quality of those shots is where the story sits.

Expected goals, or xG, is a measure of how good a chance was, adding up the likelihood that each shot would go in. Brighton's total came to 1.09, which is below the league average of 1.32 per side. Only three of their shots were on target, 14 were off target, and 12 came from inside the box, so plenty of their efforts were speculative or poorly placed.

FK Jablonec had much less of the ball than they are used to. Their season average is 43.2%, and they had 28% here, leaving them chasing the game for long periods. They still managed eight shots, which is in line with their usual output of 7.7, and four of those tested the goalkeeper. Their own xG of 0.64 was lower than their average of 0.78, so their chances were not as threatening as normal either.

The defensive side of the match is more interesting. FK Jablonec usually concede chances worth 1.85 xG per game, and this time the chances they gave away were worth clearly less than that. They also kept a clean sheet, when their usual figure is one goal conceded per match. Bart Verbruggen made four saves for Brighton and was rated 7.9, but the strongest rating on the night went to Martin Cedidla of FK Jablonec, who finished on 8.2.

Discipline was uneven. FK Jablonec picked up four yellow cards, including one for Cedidla in the 85th minute, while Brighton were booked only once, through Costinha in the 70th minute. Both sides used five substitutions, with Brighton bringing on four players together around the hour mark. Neither side was reduced in numbers, so the final shape of the game was decided on the pitch rather than by a sending off.

Form going into the match was very different. FK Jablonec have won four of their last six games and lost two, with a mixed record between home and away. Brighton have won all six of their recent matches and kept five clean sheets in that run, which is a strong spell by any measure. Brighton arrived in form and left without a goal, which is the sort of result that can frustrate a team that was creating so much.

In the table, Brighton sit second with three points from one match, while FK Jablonec are 23rd with none from the same number of games. The goalless draw leaves Brighton still unbeaten in the competition and FK Jablonec still searching for their first point.

Player of the matchMartin Cedidla1 chance created8.2

Nemanja Tekijaški5 duels won8.2

Jiří Sláma4 chances created7.9

Bart Verbruggen4 saves7.9