Espanyol had the ball, but Deportivo's keeper had the last word

A goalless draw at the RCDE Stadium, where Espanyol held most of the ball but made thinner chances than usual.

Espanyol had 64% of the ball at the RCDE Stadium on Saturday and still came away with a goalless draw against Deportivo La Coruña. That is a long way above the 44.4% the home side usually have at home, so on the surface it was their afternoon. Possession alone does not decide a match, though, and the figures from the other half of the pitch tell a more useful story.

Espanyol were not short of intent in the penalty area. They had nine shots from inside the box, and they took roughly their usual number of efforts overall. The problem was the quality. Their expected goals, a figure that scores each chance by where and how it was taken, came to 0.48, against an average of 0.73 for the home side. The shots were there, but the good opportunities were fewer than usual.

Deportivo had far less of the game. They held the ball 36% of the time, against a usual 48.8% on the road, and managed only five shots when they normally take 12.3. Their expected goals reached 0.32, which is well short of the 1.34 they typically generate away from home. Their chances were worth less than the home side's, which is not how their away form usually reads.

Much of the credit for the clean sheet belongs to Leo Román, the Deportivo goalkeeper, who made four saves and earned a rating of 7.7, the best among the players listed. Ángel Fortuño made one save at the other end. Adrià Alti won ten individual contests for Deportivo, a count that stood out among the players listed. For Espanyol, Roberto Fernández was the most threatening name, with three shots and two of them on target.

Discipline was level. Each side collected the same number of yellow cards, and nobody was sent off, so both teams finished the game with their full complement. Luismi Cruz and Roberto Fernández Jaén were both booked in the first half, and the substitutions came thick and fast late on, with Espanyol making their changes in the last quarter of an hour. Neither side was forced into a rethink by a dismissal, which means the match was decided by the football rather than by a red card.

Both teams have struggled for form lately. Espanyol have won one of their last six matches, and Deportivo have also won only one of theirs. The point leaves Espanyol 14th in the table with 11 points from their 11 games. Deportivo sit eighth with 14 points from the same number of matches.

Player of the matchLeo Román4 saves7.7

Ángel Fortuño1 save7.3

Adrià Alti1 chance created7.3

O. El Hilali1 chance created7.1