Leuven gave up far fewer chances than they usually do

OH Leuven beat KV Mechelen at Den Dreef, with the visitors enjoying most of the ball and shots but not the chances.

Mechelen had 57% of the ball, comfortably more than their usual 48.3%, and they forced 16 corners to Leuven's six. None of that stopped OH Leuven winning by two goals to nil at Den Dreef. Emmanuel Addai put the home side ahead in the 50th minute, with Robin Mirisola providing the assist, and W. Balikwisha added a second in the 90th minute, with no assist recorded for him.

Leuven had 43% of the possession, a little below the 46.9% they usually have at home. Their passing was also less accurate, with 76% of their passes finding a team-mate against 83% for Mechelen, so the visitors kept the ball moving more cleanly even without scoring from it.

Possession only tells part of the story, so the shots matter more. Mechelen took 17, far above their usual 10.5, yet only a couple were on target. Expected goals, a rough score for each shot based on how likely it was to go in given where and how it was taken, came to 0.73 for the visitors, close to their usual 0.77. The volume was there, but the quality was ordinary for them.

Leuven had shots slightly above their usual 14, and five of them were on target. Their expected goals total was 1.13, well below the 1.83 they usually manage at home. So the hosts created less than they normally do, yet scored more than their chances suggested, which is the kind of finishing that decides a match like this one.

The most striking figure belongs to Leuven's defence. At home they usually concede 2.13 expected goals, and the modest total from Mechelen's shots was all they were given here. The first goal did not arrive until after half-time, and two goals is above Leuven's usual 1.1 at home, though still below the league average of 3.3 goals per match. Ewoud Pletinckx won seven of his duels and finished as the highest-rated Leuven player at 8.2, while Robin Mirisola had four shots, the assist and nine duels won.

Leuven's home record now reads two wins, three draws and five defeats, which makes nine points from ten games. Mechelen's away record is three wins, three draws and four defeats, giving them 12 points from their ten matches. Mechelen's 12 points from ten away games are more than Leuven have managed at home.

Player of the matchEwoud Pletinckx7 duels won8.2

Siebe Schrijvers4 chances created7.9

Emmanuel Addai1 goal7.9

Dani van den Heuvel2 saves7.6