Penalty settles Como's win as Venezia's chances dry up
Como1 – 0Venezia 
Como beat Venezia 1-0 with a first-half penalty, while Venezia barely created a chance worth the name.
At 43 minutes Lucas Da Cunha scored from the penalty spot, and Como beat Venezia 1-0 at the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia. Fifteen minutes earlier, Venezia had a penalty of their own cancelled after a VAR check, the video review that officials use to look again at big decisions. The first half therefore turned on two penalty decisions, and only the one in Como's favour stood.
Como had two-thirds of the ball, 66%, which is well above their home average of 61.6%. Venezia were held to 34%, where they usually manage 51.9% when they travel. Ball possession simply means the share of time each side spends in control of the ball, and here the gap was wider than it normally is between these two clubs.
Ball possession
Como's shot count was ordinary, 19 attempts against a home norm of 19.2, so the volume was no different from usual. The quality is measured by expected goals, or xG, a score that adds up how likely each chance was to go in, where 1 would be a certain goal. Como's total of 1.63 sat just under their usual 1.72, so their finishing was close to normal too. Venezia's shots were the real story: seven attempts against a usual 14.1, and an xG of 0.21 against their away norm of 1.41.
Venezia's goalkeeper, F. Stanković, was the busiest player on the pitch, making three saves to keep the score down. Their defence did better than usual as well, conceding one goal when they normally let in 2.1 away from home. R. Halhal was the visitors' most active outfield player, with four tackles and eight duels won, a duel being any contest for the ball between two players.
Como scored one goal, against a home average of 1.9, so their attack produced less than it usually does. Their defence was the opposite, keeping a clean sheet where they normally concede 0.9. Luis Milla created the most openings for his side, with three key passes, meaning passes that led directly to a shot. Nico Paz came on at 73 minutes and won five duels, completing four dribbles in the time he had.
Neither team finished with ten men, as neither side received a red card. Venezia picked up two yellow cards in the first 41 minutes, while Como's only booking came late, at 86 minutes. The game was decided by the penalty and not by any sustained spell of pressure, and the figures make that clear enough.
Como have won six of their nine home matches and have 20 points from them. Venezia have lost five of their last six away games and have three points from nine on the road this season. Venezia now have a long way to go to improve on that away record.
Jacobo Ramón Naveros1 duels won
Luis Milla3 chances created
M. Kempf1 chance created
L. da Cunha1 goal