Strasbourg's chances ran far above normal as Auxerre lost a man

Strasbourg beat Auxerre 5-1 at the Stade de la Meinau, and the sending off in the 74th minute came in a match whose chances were far above what either side usually produces.

Auxerre spent the last sixteen minutes of this game with ten men, after Lamfia Dioubaté was sent off in the 74th minute. By then Strasbourg already led 3-1, having been ahead through Dario Essugo's opener in the 41st minute, Martial Godo's goal after the break and a Conrad Harder penalty at 62. Cameron Archer's goal at 68 was Auxerre's only reply, and the final two goals both came from Gessime Yassine after the red card.

The shape of the chances tells a bigger story than the scoreline does. Strasbourg had 64% of the ball, which is well above the 46% they average at home, and they took 17 shots where they usually take 12.1. Expected goals is a figure that gives every shot a value based on how often shots of that kind go in, and Strasbourg's chances added up to 3.01. Their normal home figure is 0.67, so this was a very different afternoon for them.

Auxerre were close to the reverse. A side that usually has nearly half the ball on the road had only 36% of it here, below their normal 48.5%. Their six shots were fewer than the 11.3 they typically take away from home, and only two of them were on target. Their expected goals of 0.5 sit well under the 1.32 they usually create on their travels, so their chances were thin for most of the afternoon.

Gessime Yassine was the player who turned those chances into goals. He scored twice, the second coming in the 85th minute, and he also set up Martial Godo's goal at 55 minutes, which is why he earned a rating of 9.5, the highest on either side. Dario Essugo's opener and Conrad Harder's penalty were the other two Strasbourg goals that mattered before the sending off, and both came from the kind of attacking play the home side had been working on all game.

Both defences were porous by their own standards. Strasbourg conceded only one goal, against a home average of 2.3, which was their best defensive return in a while. Auxerre were not so lucky, conceding five against an away average that is also 2.3. The six goals in total were double the league average of three per match, so this was a high-scoring game by any measure.

Auxerre committed 18 fouls to Strasbourg's 10, and Auxerre's Youssef Khoudda and Romain Faivre were among the names that stood out for the visitors without ever changing the outcome. Strasbourg's last six games brought just one win, a 6-2 success away from home, so this result is a welcome change in their recent run. The result leaves Strasbourg 16th in the table on seven points from eight matches, while Auxerre sit 12th on ten points.

Player of the matchGessime Yassine2 goals · 1 assist9.5

M. Godo1 goal8.2

Dário Essugo1 goal8.2

Oso2 assists7.9