Lecce shot more than usual, but two early Juventus goals settled it

Lecce 0-2 Juventus: the hosts took more shots than usual, but Juventus scored twice before the interval and held on.

Juventus were two goals up before half-time, and that is the first thing to know about this game at the Via del Mare. Weston McKennie put them ahead in the 29th minute, and Douglas Luiz doubled the lead in first-half stoppage, after Federico Gatti had set him up. Everything else in the match was played in the shadow of those two goals.

Lecce had more of the chances than they usually create at home. They had 42% of the ball, which is close to the 40.1% they usually keep, but they took 16 shots, against a home average of 10. Ten of those came from inside the box, so they were not simply firing from distance.

The trouble was the quality of those attempts. Expected goals, a measure that gives each shot a value based on how often shots like it go in, put Lecce at 1.02. That is close to their home average of 1.09, which tells us they were making ordinary chances in greater numbers rather than better ones. Only four of the shots were on target, and none of them beat the goalkeeper.

Juventus were the reverse of that picture. They had 58% of the ball, a little under their usual 60.6%, and took only eight shots, well short of the 16.3 they average away from home. Their expected goals of 1.13 were also below their away norm of 1.43. Douglas Luiz was the man who made the difference, scoring and assisting, and he was rated 9, the highest mark on the day, for a performance built on those two moments.

Juventus's defence had a harder afternoon than the scoreline suggests. Lecce's chances added up to 1.02 expected goals against them, more than double the 0.48 Juventus usually concede on their travels. Their goalkeeper made four saves, which is the kind of work a team does when the opposition is getting into dangerous positions often enough to keep the keeper busy.

The result sits uncomfortably for Lecce, who scored none against a home average of 1.3 goals and conceded two against a usual 1.7. They had only one card, a yellow in the 76th minute, and no one was sent off. Lecce are 12th with nine points from seven matches, while Juventus are 10th on 11 points from the same number of games.

Lecce have lost four of their last six matches, while Juventus have won three of their last six away from home. Those runs were already the background to this match, and a 16-shot afternoon that produced no goals leaves Lecce with the same problem they carried into it.

Player of the matchDouglas Luiz1 goal · 1 assist9.0

W. McKennie1 goal7.9

F. Gatti1 assist7.7

J. Lucumí1 chance created7.6