Trabzonspor's defence held as Gaziantep's chances fell well short

Trabzonspor beat Gaziantep FK 2-0 at Papara Park, and the visitors' chances were the weakest part of the story.

Gaziantep FK came to Papara Park with the thinnest chances of the afternoon, and Trabzonspor made sure they stayed thin. Expected goals, or xG, is a rough score for how good each chance was, where a value near 1.0 means a goal was almost certain. Gaziantep's chances added up to 0.62, well below the 1.09 they usually reach away from home. They hit the target as often as their hosts did, so the gap lay in the quality of their attempts rather than in how many found the target.

Trabzonspor had more of the ball than they usually keep, with 59% possession against a normal 53%. They also took more shots than usual, 17 against an average of 13.3 in home games. The quality did not follow the volume, though. Their xG of 0.96 sat below the 1.67 they average at home, which tells us that many of their attempts were low-value efforts, even though there were plenty of them.

The first goal came just before half-time, when Stefan Savić scored after a pass from Ernest Muçi. Muçi then scored himself in the 61st minute, set up by Noah Saviolo, so he was involved in both. Two goals is below Trabzonspor's usual 2.6 at home, so the scoring was lighter than normal. Across the whole league, a typical match produces about three goals, and this one produced fewer.

The more telling figure is at the other end. Trabzonspor usually concede 0.9 goals at home, and this time they conceded none. The chances they faced were worth well under the 1.41 xG they usually allow, and André Onana made five saves to keep the clean sheet intact. Defending a lead is rarely about one heroic moment, and here the numbers suggest the back line simply gave the visitors very little to work with.

Gaziantep's share of the ball was 41%, down from the 53.4% they usually keep when playing away. Their 12 shots came close to the league's typical 12.8 per side, but the quality of those chances was lower than the 1.28 xG a typical side produces. They also failed to score, after averaging 1.1 goals on the road. Juninho Bacuna's booking in the 60th minute was the only card the visitors picked up, and neither side was sent off.

Trabzonspor move to 19 points from nine matches and sit third in the table, with all six of their most recent results being wins. Gaziantep FK, on 8 points from nine, are 14th, and have lost four of their last six.

Player of the matchErnest Muçi1 goal · 1 assist8.2

Chibuike Nwaiwu1 chance created8.0

André Onana5 saves7.9

Noah Saviolo1 assist7.6