Ten-man Brentford had a quarter of the ball and no shot on target
Brighton2 – 0Brentford 
Brighton beat Brentford 2-0 at the American Express Stadium after Igor Thiago's dismissal, and the chances told a sharper story than the scoreline.
Igor Thiago was sent off in the 23rd minute, after a VAR review upgraded the decision, and Brentford had to finish this 2-0 defeat at the American Express Stadium with ten men. Brighton were already ahead by then, Diego Gomez having scored in the 15th minute, so the home side held the lead while the visitors chased the game a man short. Read every figure below with that in mind, because a side down to ten does not simply defend less well. It is playing a different match.
Brighton had 75% of the ball, well above the 57.9% they average at home this season. Brentford's share of 25% sat far below the 46.1% they average away, and a dismissal explains much of that gap. Still, the more useful question is what Brighton did with their possession, and the answer is that they used it close to goal.
Ball possession
Brighton took 20 shots, 13 of them from inside the box, where they usually manage around 16 in a home match. Their chances were better as well. Expected goals, a measure of how likely a chance is to go in based on where and how it was taken, came to 2.24 for Brighton, comfortably above their normal 1.77. Brentford's five shots produced nothing on target, and Kelleher made four saves to keep the margin where it stood for much of the afternoon.
Brentford's own chance quality fell well short of their usual level. Their expected goals figure was 0.71, against the 1.6 they average on the road, and that is the number that deserves the most attention. Ten men are always going to create less than eleven, so part of the drop is simply what a sending off does to a side, but the fall still sits clearly outside their normal range.
Gomez's goal in the 15th minute was the first, and Pascal Groß doubled the lead from the penalty awarded in the 42nd minute. Groß also made five key passes, the most in the Brighton side that afternoon. Two goals is a little under the 2.7 Brighton average at home, and it is also below the 2.6 that this league typically sees per match, so the scoreline was ordinary. What was unusual was how many of Brighton's chances were good ones.
Brighton also kept a clean sheet, which is worth noting against a home record that usually concedes around 0.8 goals a match. Brentford conceded two, a sharp rise on the single goal they normally give up when they travel. The defensive numbers and the attacking numbers point the same way: this was a home side that had far more of the game than usual and turned it into scoring chances.
Brighton's win takes them to 19 points from nine matches, third in the table. Brentford have 14 points from nine, seventh, and a result like this one leaves them with the question of how a side goes on after losing its best attacking outlet early. The first answer is in the table, and it does not look kind to the visitors.
D. Gómez1 goal
L. Vušković10 duels won
P. Groß1 goal
Costinha7 duels won