Lask Linz's shooting, not only their finishing, sank Slovan

Lask Linz beat Slovan Bratislava at home in the Champions League with shot volume and chance quality far above their usual level, while Slovan's were below theirs.

Kasper Jorgensen scored in the 19th minute and again in the 37th, and by the 48th Robert Ljubicic and Samuel Adeniran had added their names, so the match was largely settled inside the first hour. The first of Jorgensen's goals came from a pass by Moses Usor, while the second was his alone. Those goals came quickly, but the shooting that produced them is the more unusual part of the night.

Lask had 59% of the ball, against a home average of 42%, and their chances were far better than usual. Expected goals, a rough measure of how many goals a side's shots were worth based on where and how they were taken, came to 4.17 for Lask, against their home average of 1.6. In plain terms, they were getting into the penalty area far more often than usual and getting shots away from there. They took 29 shots, against 18 usually, and 21 of those came from inside the box.

Slovan had 41% of the ball, a touch above their away average of 38%, which is close to normal. Their shot count was the odd part, with seven attempts against 11 usually. Their expected goals of 0.53 was slightly above their away average of 0.39, so the few chances they had were not poor ones. Taking fewer shots while keeping their quality is a different problem from having no chances at all.

Across the league, a typical side takes 14.6 shots and creates 1.74 expected goals per match. These figures are averages across the whole division, so they show what an ordinary side in this competition does on a given night. Lask's shot total was at least double that, and their expected goals more than double the league figure, while Slovan sat below it on both counts.

Kasper Jorgensen was the clearest name on the sheet, with two goals, both from shots on target, and a rating of 9, the highest of either side. Sascha Horvath made four key passes, the most on the pitch, and set up Adeniran's goal, while also completing two dribbles. Robert Ljubicic had four shots of his own. Slovan's goalkeeper A. Popović still made five saves on a night when he faced a lot of chances.

The four goals were a little above the league's usual 3.7 per match, so the total itself is not out of the ordinary. Lask's share of them is, with their own home average sitting at 2.2 goals. Put simply, the goals were not unusual in number, but the side that scored them was unusually busy. Lask had the ball, took the shots and got into the areas where goals are scored.

Lask now have three points and sit 24th in the table, while Slovan still have none and are 36th, having scored once and conceded 13 goals in those matches.

Player of the matchK. Jørgensen2 goals9.0

L. Jungwirth5 saves8.4

S. Adeniran1 goal8.2

S. Horvath1 assist7.7