Gent win with less of the ball and a late flurry

Gent beat Anderlecht 4-0 at home, scoring three times in the eight minutes after the hour while having less of the ball than usual.

Tiago Araújo spent the match finding team-mates. He set up three of Gent's goals, the first of them at 14 minutes, and his rating of 9 is the best on the pitch. The other two came within eight minutes of each other after the hour, and that burst turned a narrow lead into a rout.

Gent had less of the ball than they usually do at home. They had 37% possession against a home average of 45.9%, yet they still managed 8 shots. Those shots were worth 1.72 expected goals, a measure that gives each chance a value based on where and how it was taken. Their usual home figure is 1.19, so the chances were better than normal even though the ball was not.

Anderlecht had 63% of the ball, a little above their away average of 61.8%, and took 14 shots, 11 of them from inside the box. Their chances were worth 1.20 expected goals, slightly under their away average of 1.31. Seven of their shots missed the target altogether, and they finished without a goal, where they usually score 1.1 a game on the road.

Gent's goals were spread around the side rather than resting on one man. Abdelkahar Kadri opened the scoring, and Momodou Sonko and Mathias Volckaert both found the net in the late spell. Their chance quality of 1.72 is above the league norm of 1.32 per side, so the finishing was not simply a matter of luck. Giulian Biancone won ten individual duels for Anderlecht, more than anyone else on his side, but that did not stop the goals going the other way.

Anderlecht conceded more than they usually do away from home, where they normally let in 0.8 goals a match. The side had the ball and the shots they are used to, but the chances they created were a touch below normal and they could not turn any of them into a goal. Gent, meanwhile, scored the goals their chances suggested and then added more.

Gent are top of the table on 22 points from eight matches. Anderlecht are fifth on 16 from the same number of games.

Player of the matchTiago Araújo3 assists9.0

Davy Roef5 saves8.3

Mathias Delorge1 chance created8.2

Momodou Sonko1 goal8.2