Mainz arrived at Elversberg with a fraction of their usual chances

Elversberg beat Mainz 4-1, but the more telling story is how little Mainz had to work with before Stefan Posch was sent off late on.

Stefan Posch was booked in the 85th minute and sent off in the 90th, so FSV Mainz 05 finished their trip to Elversberg with ten men. The red card came in the same minute as two goals, Cole Campbell's for the hosts and Benedict Hollerbach's for the visitors, so it changes how the rest of the afternoon should be read. Mainz were already short of chances before they were short of a player.

Elversberg usually keep about 44% of the ball at home, and this time they had 54%. They also took 13 shots, well above the 10.3 they normally manage in front of their own supporters. The better test is expected goals, a measure that adds up the quality of each chance, and they normally reach about 1.21 at home. This time they finished on 1.02, slightly below that, yet they scored four. Their goals came from fewer good chances than usual, which is the first thing worth telling a friend who missed it.

Mainz were the reverse. Away from home they normally hold 51.1% of the ball, take 17.9 shots and create around 1.9 expected goals. Here they had 46% of the ball and ten shots, and their chance quality sat far below their own norm. They scored once, against a usual 2.3 away goals, and only two of their shots were on target. A goal by Ransford Königsdörffer was cancelled after a VAR review in the 65th minute, which removed their clearest moment of pressure from the scoreboard.

Elversberg's scoring was spread across individuals. Felix Keidel opened the scoring in the 7th minute, and his 8.2 rating reflects a busy afternoon with three shots. Francis Onyeka added the second in the 26th minute from a pass by David Mokwa, and Cole Campbell struck in the 90th minute after coming on for the closing stages. Hollerbach's goal for Mainz was their only reply, and it arrived in the same minute as Posch's red card.

Discipline also split the sides. Mainz committed 21 fouls to Elversberg's eight and picked up four yellow cards, with Phillipp Mwene, Danny da Costa, Ransford Königsdörffer and Posch all booked. Elversberg received none. Fouls are the tackles and challenges that stop a move, and a side making that many of them is often one that is working hard to stop the other team rather than create its own threat.

Across the division, a typical side had 15.1 shots and 3.6 goals per match came in each game, so the five goals here sat above that average. Both clubs took fewer shots than that 15.1 benchmark, with Elversberg at 13 and Mainz at 10. The match added little to the picture of either side and more to the question of how a team can win while creating less than it normally does.

Elversberg are eighth in the table and Mainz seventh, both on 10 points from seven matches.

Player of the matchF. Keidel1 goal8.2

M. Krattenmacher1 goal7.8

Francis-Ikechukwu Onyeka1 goal7.6

William Cole Campbell1 goal7.6