Okafor's 79th-minute goal beat Tottenham's possession

Leeds won 1-0 at Elland Road with far fewer touches of the ball, but a better share of the chances.

Noah Okafor scored the only goal at Elland Road in the 79th minute, and that was enough for Leeds to beat Tottenham 1-0. It was a late winner for the home side, and it came from a team that spent most of the afternoon without the ball. The scoreline is simple enough, but the numbers underneath show how Leeds got there.

Possession, the share of time each side has the ball, went to Tottenham with 61%. That is a little below the 63.3% they average away from home this season, so the visitors were not far off their usual pattern. Leeds had 39%, against a home average of 48.3%, which is lower than normal but not dramatically so. Tottenham completed 418 passes, yet having the ball was not what settled this game.

Shots tell a different story. Tottenham managed only five, well short of the 16.3 they average away from home. Leeds had 16, above their own home average of 11.2 and the league average of 13.5 per team. Eleven of those came from inside the penalty box, where most goals are scored.

Expected goals, usually shortened to xG, adds up the chance of each shot going in, based on where it was taken from and how it was struck. A shot from close range counts for far more than a speculative effort from distance. Leeds finished on a total well above the 0.76 they average at home, while Tottenham fell far below their away average of 1.32. The league average is 1.4 per team, so the home side's chances were of much higher quality than the visitors'.

Okafor was the man who turned one of those openings into a goal. He had a shot in the match, it was on target, and he was rated 7.7, the highest of anyone on the pitch. He was booked a minute after scoring, which is not how most goalscorers spend their celebrations. His goal was the difference, but it was built on Leeds creating far more sights of goal than their opponents.

Tottenham also picked up cards that will be noticed in the dressing room. Micky van de Ven was booked in the 15th minute, and Pedro Porro and Roberto De Zerbi both collected yellow cards in the 51st minute. Sandro Tonali was also booked late on. None of them was sent off, so the match kept its full complement of players on both sides to the final whistle.

Leeds sit 12th in the table with 11 points from nine matches, having won two, drawn five and lost two of those games. Tottenham are ninth with 12 points, built from three wins, three draws and three defeats away from home. Both clubs now know that this was a game decided by a single moment of finishing.

Player of the matchN. Okafor1 goal7.7

J. Trafford4 saves7.6

J. van Hecke1 shot on target7.3

N. Elvedi7 duels won7.2