Paris Saint Germain scored four in the opening quarter-hour

Paris Saint Germain beat Villarreal 6-0 at the Estadio de la Cerámica, with their chances close to their usual level and the home side's shooting well below its own norm.

Paris Saint Germain scored four goals in the first quarter-hour at the Estadio de la Cerámica, and the match was largely settled before most of the crowd had got comfortable. João Neves opened the scoring, Désiré Doué and Senny Mayulu struck within a minute of each other, and Fabián Ruiz made it four. Villarreal finished 6-0 down, but the scoreline is the least interesting part of what happened.

The notable thing is not that Paris Saint Germain shot more than usual. Expected goals, a measure that gives each shot a value from nothing to one based on how good the chance was, came to 2.73, close to their away average of 2.85. What changed was how often those chances went in. A side that usually scores 4.7 goals on the road scored six here, so the finishing did far more of the work than the volume of chances did.

For Villarreal, the shooting was ordinary in quantity and poor in quality. They took 13 shots, against a home average of 13.7, which is normal. Their expected goals, however, were 0.61 where they usually sit at 1.46, and only two of those efforts were on target. They also had 29% of the ball, far below their home average of 49%, so Paris Saint Germain controlled possession in the way their away numbers would suggest.

The defensive picture is harder for the home side. Villarreal usually concede 2.7 goals at home, and they conceded six. Their usual defensive concession, measured in expected goals, is 2.17, and Paris Saint Germain created more than that, which means the chances they gave up were better than the ones they normally allow. Goalkeeper P. Gulácsi was the busiest figure on the Villarreal side, making six saves in a match that was lost long before the end.

Ruiz was the outstanding player on the pitch, scoring twice and rating 9.8 across the full 90 minutes, the highest mark of the night. João Neves was almost as influential, scoring once and setting up David Boly's late goal, while Maghnes Akliouche recorded two assists and created five chances for team-mates. Those three did the decisive work in the first half and the first half of the second.

Discipline was lopsided too. Villarreal received four yellow cards, while Paris Saint Germain received one, and neither side was shown a red card. The home side's four bookings came across the match rather than in a single flashpoint, which is a reminder that a team trailing by four before the half-hour mark tends to pick up fouls as the game slips away.

Villarreal now sit 19th in the table with three points from three matches. Paris Saint Germain are top on nine points, and they arrive at this stage having won all six of their recent away matches.

Player of the matchFabián Ruiz2 goals9.8

João Neves1 goal · 1 assist9.0

D. Doué1 goal8.2

M. Akliouche2 assists8.1