Betis made fewer chances than usual and still scored in Dortmund

Dortmund beat Real Betis 2-1 at home, but the visitors' goal came from chances well below what they normally create.

Real Betis went to Signal Iduna Park and created less than they usually do, yet still came away with a goal. Their 11 shots compare with the 19 they average away from home this season, and their expected goals (a figure that adds up how good each chance was, so a close-range effort counts for far more than a speculative one) came to 0.88, against a usual 1.82. Aitor Ruibal scored their goal, and he managed only two shots in the whole match.

Dortmund's numbers look closer to ordinary. They had 53% of the ball, exactly their home average, and 15 shots, a little short of the 16.3 they usually take. Their expected goals reached 2.52, above the 2.25 they normally produce at home, so the chances they made were better than their usual ones.

Their finishing did not quite match those chances. Dortmund scored two, above the 1.7 they average at home, but from 2.52 expected goals that is less than the chances suggested. Fábio Silva's goal came early in the second half, and Karetsas added the winner after Ruibal's strike had levelled the score, with Silva providing the assist.

Betis's figures tell the reverse story. They scored one, well below their usual 2.3 goals away from home, yet from so few chances that single goal was more than their chance quality would normally deliver. Their attack gave them little to work with for most of the match, and the one they took was enough to bring them back into it for a short while.

At the other end, Dortmund conceded only one goal, below the 1.3 they usually concede at home. Gregor Kobel made three saves, and the Betis keeper, Álvaro Vallés, made four, so the visitors' keeper was busier than the home one. The chances Dortmund allowed were lower in quality than the 1.35 they normally give up at home, which is part of why a side with fewer shots still had a goal to show for it.

The result leaves the two sides in very different places. Betis have won four of their last six away matches and now sit seventh in the table on nine points from three games. Dortmund are 16th on six points from the same number of matches.

Player of the matchAitor Ruibal1 goal8.2

Fábio Silva1 goal · 1 assist8.0

K. Karetsas1 goal7.7

J. Ryerson5 chances created7.2