Porto won with fewer chances than usual, Gil Vicente a man down

Porto took the points at Gil Vicente on less of a chance-creating game than they usually manage, and the home side finished with ten men.

Gil Vicente spent the closing stretch of this game a man short, but the red card did not decide it. Marvin Elimbi Gilbert was sent off in the 84th minute, well after Borja Sainz had put FC Porto in front in the 63rd. The lead was Porto's to protect rather than to chase, and that shapes how the rest of the numbers should be read.

The most surprising figure belongs to Porto, who had more of the ball than usual but created far less. They had 58% possession, a little above the 54.9% they average on the road this season. Their expected goals, a measure that adds up how likely each shot was to go in, came to 1.13, against an away average of 2.39. Porto were less dangerous than they normally are, and still won.

Gil Vicente had less of the ball and less of a threat. They held 42% possession, below the 52.8% they average at home, and their expected goals of 0.43 fell well short of the 1.26 they usually produce in front of their own supporters. Lucão made three saves in the home goal, and his 7.2 rating was joint best on the home side.

Sainz's goal was the moment that settled it, and it came in a match where Porto had fewer chances than usual rather than a flood of them. He had three efforts, two of them on target, and the one that went in was the one that counted. J. Bednarek, who won nine of his duels, was the standout at the back, and his 7.9 rating matched Sainz's.

Porto kept a clean sheet, conceding nothing against an away average of 0.5 goals. Gil Vicente conceded one, which is close to the 0.8 they usually concede at home. In a game where neither side scored often, a single moment of quality was always going to matter more than the total of shots, and it did.

Across the division, matches average 2.7 goals, and this one produced a single goal, so it was a far tighter game than most. Gil Vicente failed to score against a Porto side that has now kept a clean sheet in a match where they had fewer chances than their usual away games.

Porto are first on 24 points from eight games, while Gil Vicente sit sixth with 14 points from the same number of matches.

Player of the matchJ. Bednarek1 shot on target7.9

Borja Sainz1 goal7.9

J. Kiwior1 chance created7.6

Z. Sanusi1 chance created7.5