Vitória SC made far fewer chances than usual in a goalless draw

GIL Vicente 0-0 Vitória SC: neither side scored, and the visitors fell furthest below their usual chance-making.

Nothing went in at the Estadio Cidade de Barcelos, and in a league where matches average 2.8 goals, that is a quiet afternoon by any measure. The more useful question is what each side actually created, and the answer is not much. Expected goals (xG) is a rough way of scoring chances by how likely each one was to go in, based on where and how it was struck, and it shows how little either side had.

Vitória SC had 52% of the ball and 11 shots, six of them from inside the box. Their season averages are 54% and 16.4 shots, so the possession was close to normal while the shooting was not. Their xG came to 0.48, against a season average of 1.45 and a league average of 1.11 per side, which means the chances were thin as well as few.

GIL Vicente had 48% of the ball, below the 51.6% they usually hold at home, and nine shots against a usual 12.8. Their xG of 0.67 was short of the 1.13 they average at home and well under the league's 1.11 per side. Only one of their shots was on target, and Lucão made two saves to keep the score where it was.

João Mendes was the busiest player in the match on the visitors' side, winning nine duels and making three tackles along with three successful dribbles. Ricardo Esgaio did similar work for the home side, winning six duels and creating two key passes. Diogo Prioste, who came on in the 84th minute, had a shot on target, which was the sort of effort the afternoon lacked.

Three yellow cards came out, two for GIL Vicente (Santiago García González at 40 minutes and Esgaio at 54) and one for Vitória SC (Toni Borevković at 60). There were no red cards. Both benches stirred in the final quarter, with Vitória making their first change at 75 minutes and GIL Vicente at 76, and the rest of the substitutions came late, too late to change the shape of the game.

GIL Vicente sit seventh in the table with 14 points from nine games, while Vitória SC are thirteenth with 8. Recent form looks similar on the surface: GIL have won two of their last six, drawn one and lost three, while Vitória have won one, drawn two and lost three. The difference is in the detail, since GIL's last six included a home defeat by one goal and Vitória's last away trip ended 1-0 to the opposition.

Vitória have won only one of their last six, a 5-0 home win that remains the only time they have scored more than once in that run.

Player of the matchRicardo Esgaio2 chances created7.3

Lucão2 saves7.2

João Mendes1 chance created7.2

José Silva1 chance created7.1