Swansea shot far more often, and from far better places

Swansea beat Blackburn with more of the ball and clearly better chances, and the scoreline reflects it.

Swansea had 19 shots at the Swansea.com Stadium, almost double the 10.1 they usually take at home. Blackburn managed seven, against an away average of 11.6. Shot counts can flatter, though, so the more useful question is where those shots were taken from and how good they were.

Analysts measure chance quality with expected goals, or xG, which gives each shot a score from nothing to one based on how often shots of that kind go in. Swansea's chances added up to 2.35, more than double what they normally create at home. Blackburn's came to 0.31, about a third of what they usually manage away, and both sides normally average 0.94 a game.

The ball told a similar story. Swansea had 67% of possession, well above the 56.6% they average at home, while Blackburn had 33%, below the 47.4% they usually keep on the road. Swansea used that possession to work the ball into the penalty area, where 13 of their shots came from, and Blackburn's inside-the-box shots came to just five.

The goals came in a clear pattern. Stephen Eustáquio opened the scoring at 11 minutes from a pass by Joseph Amankwaah Opoku, who then scored himself at 32. Filip Lissah added a third at 36, and Ross Stewart completed the scoring at 59. Opoku was the afternoon's standout, his rating of 9 reflecting a goal, an assist and two key passes.

Blackburn's defensive figures make the afternoon harder to read in their favour. They usually concede chances worth 1.71 when they play away, and Swansea created more than that with room to spare. Blackburn made changes at 24 minutes and again at half time, but none of them altered the shape of the match.

Swansea are fourth in the table with 23 points from twelve games, and their last four results are all wins. Blackburn sit eleventh on 18 points, and they have won four of their last six matches.

Player of the matchJoseph Okopu1 goal · 1 assist9.0

S. Eustáquio1 goal8.2

R. Stewart1 goal7.9

S. Welsh1 assist7.7