Fewer shots, better chances: Palmeiras held Santos goalless

Santos and Palmeiras drew 0-0 at Estádio Urbano Caldeira, and Palmeiras' chances were the more interesting part of a dull scoreline.

Palmeiras took 13 shots at Santos, well short of the 18.4 they average on the road. Yet their chances held up better than the count suggests. Expected goals, a measure that scores each chance by how often such a chance tends to go in, gave them 1.62, close to their usual 1.72. Ten of those shots came from inside the penalty area, which is where most goals are scored from.

Palmeiras had 51% of the ball, a little under their away norm of 55.4%, so they were less on the ball than usual but more dangerous with it. Santos, at home, had 49%, which sits almost exactly on their own average of 50.3%. Santos also fired 16 shots, above their usual 15, but eight of them came from outside the box, where chances are harder to turn into goals. Their expected goals figure was a fraction under their home average of 1.5 and close to the league figure of 1.38 per side.

Neither side scored, and that is unusual on both counts. Santos average 1.7 goals at home and Palmeiras average 1.8 on the road, yet neither found the net here. The league averages 2.8 goals per match, so a goalless game is well out of the ordinary. Two goalkeepers did most of the work: Diógenes made five saves for Santos, and Carlos Miguel made four for Palmeiras, earning the higher rating of the two at 7.6.

The match was untidy. Seven yellow cards were shown, four to Palmeiras and three to Santos, and two came in the same minute, the 38th, when Philippe Coutinho and Marlon Freitas were both booked. Nobody was sent off, so the cards did not change the shape of the game in the way a red card would. Palmeiras also won three corners to Santos' one, which fits with the visitors pressing more in the final third.

Among the players, Gabriel Bontempo for Santos created the most openings, with five key passes, the most of anyone on the pitch, and he also had three shots, though only one was on target. Á. Barreal won nine of his duels, more than any other player in the match. For Palmeiras, J. López came on in the 79th minute and still managed three shots and three key passes in the time he had, which is a sharp return for a substitute.

Both sides came into the game in different moods. Palmeiras arrived with five wins from their last six matches, a strong run that this result halted at the first chance. Santos had three wins from six, with a draw and two defeats, so their form was more mixed. Neither team had recent goals to fall back on, which made the goalless scoreline less surprising than it might have been at the start of the season.

Palmeiras' record on the road ranks second in the division, and Santos' home record ranks eighth. Both sides leave the Urbano Caldeira with a point, and neither has gained a goal to show for their work.

Player of the matchDiógenes5 saves7.9

Carlos Miguel4 saves7.6

Rodinei1 chance created7.3

Gabriel Bontempo5 chances created7.2