Ten men, two own goals and a Mechelen comeback at Kortrijk

Kortrijk had the lead and a man advantage for the first part of the second half, then lost both, and the chances told a more open story than the result suggests.

Kortrijk led from the 53rd minute after Ambrose scored, and they still had the lead when Ndjeungoue was sent off for them. Mechelen levelled three minutes after the red card through Van Brederode, and the match turned on two own goals. Fofana turned one into his own net a few minutes after that equaliser, and Lambert put another past his own keeper late on. Mechelen won 3-1, and the result rests on those late moments more than on anything that came before.

Mechelen had 60% of the ball, against an average of 47% in their away games this season, so they were comfortably more involved than usual. Kortrijk had 40%, a little under the 42.9% they usually manage at home, so the possession gap was wider than normal but not unusual for them. Possession only says who held the ball, though, so the more useful question is who made the better chances.

Expected goals, or xG, is a rough measure of how good each chance was, with 1 meaning a near certainty. Mechelen's total was 1.17, well above their away average of 0.69, and Kortrijk's was 1.06, also above the 0.81 they average at home. Both sides created more than they usually do, which goes some way to explaining why an unusual number of goals came in a single match. Mechelen were the sharper side in front of goal, with seven shots on target and eight efforts from inside the box.

Kortrijk's keeper Ilić made six saves, and Mechelen's De Wolf made just one, which is a reflection of how few shots Kortrijk managed on target. Kortrijk's defence allowed fewer chances than they usually concede at home, with an xG against of 1.17 compared with their home average of 2.13. The trouble was not the quality of chances but the way the goals arrived: a sending off and two own goals are not things a defence can plan for.

Ambrose was the only Kortrijk scorer, and his rating of 8.5 was the best in his side, reflecting the goal and the work he did up front. Van Brederode's goal earned him a rating of 8.2 for Mechelen, the highest in his team. Michez created four chances for his side and had four shots, so his influence on the attack was real even without a goal to show for it. Hammar won eight duels and made six interceptions, which says something about how much of the ball Mechelen had to win back.

The match finished with four goals, a little above the league average of 3.2 per game. Kortrijk have conceded three goals at home, against an average of two, and Mechelen have now scored three away, against their usual 1.1. Kortrijk sit 18th with four points from nine matches, while Mechelen are 14th with nine points from nine. Kortrijk have won only once in their last six games.

Player of the matchThierry Ambrose1 goal8.5

Myron Van Brederode1 goal8.2

Brecht Dejaegere1 chance created7.3

Marko Ilić6 saves7.2