Let's go over some early
#EPL
numbers, starting with Expected Goals per match.
Already, we see City are in a league of their own.
Liverpool are a firm second, and then we see... Wolves.
Arsenal and Manchester United are in obscure mediocrity here.
Manchester United consistely getting results despite opponents having equal or better chances is setting the stage for a fascinating turn of events.
Ole would be smart to turn down the job of regular manager & have this unlikely spell define his reputation
By now most teams around the world have 'someone doing something with data'. And that's not going to sort any effect.
Hire smart people, structure your decision making, run it like a business.
Money invested in smarter decisions is money well spent.
Brighton spends £3m a year on data consultancy to help their recruitment team to get the right players.
A single wrong transfer at PL level can cost £50m in fees/wages.
Yet a lot of clubs would choke at the idea of spending 3% of that on data services.
It's not a tactical masterplan if the opposition has significantly more and better chances.
That's freakish conversion, and that goes a long way explaining the outcome of short competitions.
Story of this game.
Chances for Liverpool until Salah went off in the 31' minute.
From that moment, Real started dominating, were gifted a goal, Mané scored from close range, Bale scored his brilliant finish and Karius had his second moment. Done.
#xGplot
After two seasons of a stuttering offense under Pellegrini, it took Pep Guardiola a season to get things in place.
The offensive explosion in the current season is nothing short of brilliant.
And what makes it even more impressive is the defense even improved.
#MCFC
The year 2017 brought me a beautiful healthy daughter 👶, another year in the bright light of my toddler son 🧒, a fourth year in the best marriage ever 💑, and the start to my football scouting company 👊!
Wishing you all the best for 2018! ❤
Om Arvind (1999-2024)
Today is a sad day.
But we cherish the memory of Om as writer for
@BetweenThePosts
, deeply involved in the very beginning.
Thoughts and prayers are with his family & friends! ♥️
Dortmund's long term xG plot tells quite the story.
Klopp had big offensive issues in his final season.
Tuchel fixed them rapidly, but dipped in the 2nd season.
The defense exploded under Bosz, which Stöger didn't repair.
And the offense is downright broken right now.
#BVB
In a broader sense, not exactly happy with where public football analytics has landed so far.
Lots of focus on visuals and data being used to support pre-conceived points.
We used to have more constructive analysis and standing on shoulders. I guess it was always inevitable.
Idea to prevent these 'dead rubbers'.
Group winners are ranked by points, GD, goals scored.
Best group winner gets to pick a runner up to play in round of 16.
Second best group winner picks next, etc.
Everything to play for till the very end.
Added excitement of the picking.
Finally, the end of that 'Messi can't score versus Chelsea narrative'.
Stupid nonsense trivia presented as stats.
Juggling with small sample size records is not analysis.
#chebar
Pre-game title odds:
LFC 66%
City 34%
#LFC
title odds:
LFC win 88%
draw 74%
City win 54%
#MCFC
title odds:
LFC win: 12%
draw 26%
City win 46%
This match is almost a big as you're being led to believe!
Must read!
Frenkie de Jong is elite in so many statistics. You just need the skills to look beyond plainly counting stuff like assists and goals.
New
@OptaPro
recruit
@NilsMackay
is rapidly making a name for himself with such excellent work.
Watching football on mute, with music on, is really the best way to watch it. For me.
No distractions, no outside opinions being forced on you. Just your observations from what you see.
Dynamic
#passmap
shows how extreme left tilted Spain started, followed by more balance. Then see how Thiago builds up so many ball touches.
Isco a master to get this many touches and links in high areas.
However, the whole team dropped deeper near the end, and paid the price.
Mexico's dynamic
#passmap
shows how they were drilled for this game.
A very compact 4-2-3-1, with pacy forwards as important outlets, most notably Lozano on the left flank.
In the end you can see clearly how deep they retreated to defend the lead with depleted energy levels.
Happy to announce a partnership with
@AjaxLife
!
This means that all xGplots, passmaps, and more will now be presented first on their platform, after every Ajax match!
Another excellent
#LFC
signing.
Nabil Fekir is one of those offensive midfielders who just ticks all the boxes: scoring, creating, movement, build-up, dribbling.
And he's improving year on year.
His data profile just looks so good.
PLAYER OF THE DAY
David Jurasek
Age: 22
Country: 🇨🇿
Club: Slavia Prague
Position: FB
His Boleslav data were impressive, but his Slavia data could hardly be better. Scoring threat, chance creation, offensive passing all at elite levels. And great defensive numbers too.
#POTD
Granit Xhaka came close to the ultimate game last night, from a
@Goalimpact
point of view.
Kick-off
19' ⚽ Switzerland scores
66' ⚽ Switzerland scores
76' ⚽ Switzerland scores
79' 🔄 Xhaka subbed off
84' ⚽ Denmark scores
88' ⚽ Denmark scores
93' ⚽ Denmark scores
@11tegen11
Hello, wondering if you'll be producing passmaps/xGplots for the WC. Love your work. If there's any way I can support you as a fan, let me know!
Nice read, via
@Goalimpact
.
On the differences between evaluating player performances with data or naked eye observation.
This is why we always mix data and video in our player scouting.
Important in decision making in football. Well, in any industry really.
Separate process (yellow) from outcome (pink).
Still amazed most clubs haven't implemented this.