Napoli finish with four from fewer chances than they usually make

Napoli beat Monza 4-1 with far more of the ball than they usually have, and their four goals came from a smaller pile of chances than normal.

Napoli had 64% of the ball at the Brianteo, and that is the first thing to notice. Away from home they usually have around 50.5%, so this was a clear step up. Monza, who average 45.3% in their own stadium, were pushed down to 36%. Possession does not win games on its own, but here it gave Napoli plenty of time on the edge of the Monza box.

The chances Napoli created were not unusually good, though. Their expected goals figure, a rough score for how good each shot was, came to 1.43, which is a little below the 1.67 they average on their travels. Yet they scored four times. Rasmus Hojlund opened the scoring in the tenth minute, and Matteo Politano, rated 8.7 for his goal and an assist, got two of the goals that turned the game in the second half.

Monza's only goal came in first-half stoppage time, when Gustavo Varela, who was rated 8 and took six shots, levelled the match in the 43rd minute. Their own chances were thin: their expected goals of 0.81 sat well below the 1.57 they usually make at home. Varela was the one Monza player who kept finding the target, and three of his shots were on it.

Monza did not concede more chances than usual, but they conceded a great many more goals. Napoli's 1.43 was only slightly above the 1.27 that Monza usually give up in their own stadium, so the quality of the openings was close to normal. The difference was the finishing, which is the part of the game that is hardest to predict over a single afternoon. Napoli's goals came in the 48th, 62nd and 67th minutes, and by then the match had moved beyond the reach of a side with a fifth of the possession.

The shot counts look ordinary on both sides. Monza's total was in line with their usual output, and Napoli's sixteen was only a touch above the 15.4 they average away. The real gap is where the shots were taken. Twelve of Napoli's efforts came from inside the box, against three for Monza, which tells you why the scoreline ran away from the home side.

Monza's last eight matches have brought them seven points, and they now sit 15th in the table. Napoli, with eleven points from their eight matches, are 10th. Monza's home record has been the weaker of the two, and it is the feature of this result that looks most like a pattern rather than a bad afternoon. Napoli leave the Brianteo with four goals and the ball they wanted.

Player of the matchM. Politano1 goal · 1 assist8.7

Gustavo Varela1 goal8.0

Rafa Marín1 goal8.0

R. Højlund1 goal7.7