Lugano were three up by minute 32 on fewer chances than usual

Lugano beat Kauno Žalgiris 3-0 in the Europa Conference League, with all three goals inside the first 32 minutes from chances that were worth less than they usually create.

Lugano scored three times in the opening 32 minutes of this Europa Conference League game at the AIL Arena, and that is the first thing to know. Y. Cimignani opened the scoring after eleven minutes, Ezgjan Alioski doubled the lead at 24, and Daniel Dos Santos made it three at 32. Kauno Žalgiris never got back into the contest, and those early goals settled it long before the final whistle.

Dos Santos was involved in two of the three goals. He set up Cimignani's opener and then scored the third himself, with Bekhruz Karimov credited with the assist. His rating of 8.9 reflects a night in which almost everything he touched added to the scoreline, and it is the clearest single piece of evidence for why the game ended as it did.

Lugano had 66% of the ball, which is the share of time a side spends in possession. Their usual figure across the season is 52.1%, so they had noticeably more of the ball than they normally do. Kauno had 34%, and that extra possession lined up with the scoreline rather than running alongside it.

Lugano took 13 shots, which is almost exactly their usual 13.9 a game, so the number of attempts was ordinary. What changed was their quality, measured by expected goals, a figure that adds up how likely each shot was to go in. Their chances came to 1.24, below the usual 1.6, which means they scored three from less than they normally create.

Kauno Žalgiris managed five shots, against an average of 12.7 per side in this league, and only one was on target. Their expected goals total was 0.29, well below the league average of 1.35 per team. Lugano usually concede around 1.56 expected goals in a home game, and this time the back line gave up far less than that, keeping a clean sheet against a usual 1.3 goals conceded.

Lugano have won four and drawn two of their last six, going unbeaten through that run and scoring 15 goals while conceding eight. Kauno have won one of their last six and lost five, scoring three and conceding 18 in the same spell. The gap between the two sides' recent form was already wide before a ball was kicked, and this result widened it further.

Lugano sit fourth in the table on six points after two games, while Kauno Žalgiris are 36th with none.

Player of the matchDaniel Dos Santos1 goal · 1 assist8.9

Ahmed Kendouci1 chance created7.9

Ezgjan Alioski1 goal7.9

Bekhruz Karimov1 assist7.7