EPL Stats Gallery: xG, shot maps, xT from passes and more from Chelsea vs Southampton
chelseafc analysis
Chelsea hosted Southampton at Stamford Bridge on Saturday for Matchday 7 of the 2021/22 Premier League season. The Blues won the game 3-1, with a match-winning performance from Timo Werner, who scored once in the first half, but the goal was ruled out because of a controversial VAR decision. Trevor Chalobah and Ben Chilwell scored their other two goals, while Ward-Prowse scored the Saints’ only goal of the game from the penalty spot. The victory took Chelsea to the top of the Premier League table with 16 points from their first seven games. Southampton, on the other hand, are yet to win a game this season and are on 17th with four points from their seven games.
We’ve broken down all the key stats for you to digest, including;
* shot maps
* xT (expected threat)
* pass networks
* xG timelines
* defensive duels
* average positions and much more!
We also try to answer some questions for you with the visuals;
Who was Chelsea’s best passer in the match? Which Southampton player created the highest xG in the match?
To navigate the stats gallery simply click on the numbers to move through the pages.
At the end of the gallery, you’ll be able to download the full PDF stats report.
Thomas Tuchel lined up the Chelsea squad in a 3-4-2-1 formation with Edouard Mendy starting in goal behind the three centre-backs Trevor Chalobah, Thiago Silva and Antonio Rudiger. Ben Chilwell played as the left wing-back along with central midfielders Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Mateo Kovacic, and right wing-back Cesar Azpilicueta. The two attacking midfielders Callum Hudson-Odoi and Timo Werner supported the striker Romelu Lukaku.
The average positions of the Chelsea players show that they had most of the possession in the game, thereby having more attacks as well. Most of their players had their average positions in the opposition half.
Ralph Hasenhuttl lined up Southampton in a 4-4-2 formation with Adam Armstrong and Nathan Redmond starting as the two strikers. The midfield four consisted of left-winger Nathan Tella, central midfielders Oriol Romeu and James Ward-Prowse and right-winger Theo Walcott. Alex McCarthy started in between the sticks behind a back four consisting of left-back Kyle Walker-Peters, centre backs Mohammed Salisu and Jan Bednarek, and right back Tino Livramento.
The average positions of the Saints show that they were mostly defending in the game, chasing behind the ball and Chelsea players. Most players’ average positions were close to the halfway line.
Thomas Tuchel’s Blues won the game 3-1 and put in an impressive performance on Saturday. The Blues’ took a total of 19 shots in the match, even hitting the target 10 times and scoring thrice. The Saints, on the other hand, took only six shots in the game, hitting the target only twice. Chelsea had a high xG of 3.07 in comparison to Southampton’s 1.19. The Blues’ had 57% possession in the match, having a much higher number of positional attacks in comparison to the Saints.
James Ward-Prowse had the highest individual xG in the game of 0.78, while Timo Werner had the highest xG for Chelsea with 0.70 as he also took six shots on goal in the match and had nine successful dribbles. Mateo Kovacic and Toni Rudiger both put in more than 10 passes into the opposition box.
Chelsea’s shot map of the match shows that they took almost all their shots from inside the box, as they were patient in the buildup, waiting for the right moments to take their shots. They scored all three goals from inside the box.
Southampton’s shot map shows that they took only five shots from open play, with one from inside the box, and four from outside. They scored their only goal from the penalty spot.
The xT creation timeline of the match shows that The Blues had the most threat generation almost all through the first half, with The Saints having one or two good opportunities. The xG generation timeline of the match shows that both teams had a similar trajectory in xG till the hour mark. After 1-1, Chelsea had many more attacks and a huge spike in xG.
The Blues’ pass matrix shows that they had a large number of passes to show for their 57 % possession in the match. Toni Rudiger attempted and received the most passes in the match, attempting 77 and receiving 69 passes.
The Saints’ pass matrix of the match shows that they did not have a lot of passes in the match, considering only 43% possession in the match. Kyle Walker-Peters attempted the most passes for them with 54, while Ward-Prowse received the most passes for them with 32.
The home team’s passing zones show that they had a high concentration of their passes in the midfield region, with a lot of them on the right side. Timo Werner put in six crosses into the box, while he, along with Kovacic and Azpilicueta, also had four passes in the opposition’s 18-yard box.
The passing zones of the visitors show that they had very few passes in the match, with the highest concentration on the left side. They had very few good moments near the opposition half, with Tella and Walker-Peters, the two full-backs, put in three crosses each into the box.
The Blues’ xT creation zones show that they created a lot of xT in the attacking third, in and around the opposition box. Azpilicueta had the highest xT from passing for them.
Other than Azpilicueta, Mateo Kovacic, and substitute Mason Mount had decent xT generation from passing. In terms of xT generated from dribbling. Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Ben Chilwell and Timo Werner had good xT.
The visitors’ xT creation zones show that they created only a little xT in and around the opposition’s box and in the final attacking third. Walker-Peters had the highest xT creation from passing.
Other than Walker-Peters, Ward-Prowse and Redmond had good xT from passing, while, Walker-Peters, arguably The Saints’ best player of the match also had the highest xT from dribbling.
Chelsea had to contest a lot of defensive duels in the match, especially on the right side of the pitch. Rudiger and Kovacic both won three duels each for The Blues.
There were only a few aerial duels contest in the two 18yard boxes in the match by Chelsea players, with Rudiger and Chalobah both winning three each.
The home side won a few loose balls in the match all over the pitch, wig Kovacic making three loose ball recoveries for them, followed by Hudson-Odoi, Chilwell and Thiago Silva winning two each.
Southampton had to face a large number of defensive duels all over the pitch all over the 90 minutes. Mohammed Salisu won five defensive duels for the Saints.
As mentioned earlier, there were only a few aerial duels contested in the game, with Salisu, Livramento and Bednarek all winning a couple of aerial duels each.
The Saints were able to make a few loose ball recoveries in the match, both in their own half and the attacking half. Nathan Tella and Jan Karim Bednarek won four loose balls each, followed by Romeu’s three.
Another impressive victory for Tuchel and his Chelsea side saw them go up to the top of the Premier League table. They now have 16bpoints in seven games, and will hope to continue this form as they are one of the favourites to win the league title this season. The Saints on the other hand will have to improve a lot if they do not want to be a part of the relegation battle. They are yet to win a league game after seven games and are on 17th with just four points.
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