Panathinaikos won with ten men and less of the ball

Panathinaikos beat AEK Athens after Kings Kangwa's red card, despite having far less of the ball and fewer clear chances.

Panathinaikos finished their home game against AEK Athens with ten men, after Kings Kangwa was sent off in the 70th minute. A VAR review upgraded his booking to a red card, leaving the home side a man short for the closing stretch. The goals had already come well before that: Andrews Tetteh scored in the first minute, and Santino Andino doubled the lead after the restart.

The more revealing figures concern the ball. Panathinaikos had 40% of the possession, far below the 66.3% they usually keep at home this season. AEK had 60%, a little above their away average of 58%. Possession only tells us who had the ball, though, and it is not the same thing as making the most of it.

Expected goals, or xG, is a way of measuring chances by their quality: a tap-in counts for far more than a long effort. Panathinaikos finished on 0.64, against a home average of 2.7 and a league average of 1.21 per side. AEK's 1.03 was also below that league figure, and a real drop from their away average of 2.31. Two sides both under the league norm is an unusual sort of match.

Panathinaikos had 16 shots, close to their usual level, but only three were on target. Twelve of those attempts came from outside the box, which tells us most of their efforts were taken from distance. AEK had 14 shots, below their away average of 18.3, but nine of them came inside the box against just four from the home side. That gap is where the xG difference comes from.

Andino was involved in both goals, setting up the opener and then scoring the second himself, and his rating of 8.6 reflects that. Iñaki Peña also deserves a mention, because he made two saves and kept a clean sheet for the home side. AEK's Lovro Majer and Petros Mantalos came on as substitutes, but neither changed the shape of the scoreline.

The discipline was another story. AEK gave away more fouls than the home side and picked up four yellow cards, while Panathinaikos received one yellow and the red for Kangwa. The dismissal came late enough that the closing stages were played a man short, which is why the final numbers look tidier than the game felt for the home supporters.

Panathinaikos now sit second in the table with 21 points from eight matches, while AEK are third on 17 points from seven. AEK, who have still not lost a league game this season, will go into their next match with that record intact.

Player of the matchSantino Andino1 goal · 1 assist8.6

A. Tetteh1 goal7.4

Iñaki Peña2 saves7.1

R. van Drongelen8 duels won6.8