Premier League review: Brighton boos; Merseyside derby at wrong time for Rafa; Jorginh-oh
Liam Kelly reviews the Premier League action from a data perspective, highlighting points of interest after the latest round of matches.
The aim of this weekly column is to provide standout stats from each round of fixtures, to use underlying numbers to identify recent trends, and to inform punters with tools to improve their betting on the Premier League.
Brighton boos
Brighton's 0-0 draw with Leeds on Saturday night had all the hallmarks of a scripted Seagulls game under Graham Potter, who set his team up perfectly to win the match.
Brighton's defence was commanding, limiting Leeds to just 0.80 expected goals (xG) at 0.07 xG per shot. Tariq Lamptey was back in the line-up and terrorised the left side of the opposition. Yves Bissouma dominated the midfield. And yet they were again wasteful in front of goal, squandering a number of scoring opportunities (1.99 xG).
That is Potter shouting for Brighton bingo, before a smattering of baffling boos around the AMEX at the final whistle left him — correctly — perplexed.
Granted, it is undoubtedly infuriating to watch your side miss chance after chance for an extended period of time, and an eight-game winless run doesn't help, but Brighton's booers can't see the forest for the trees. They currently sit in the top-half of the Premier League!
🗣️ "They're entitled to their opinion, I disagree with them, completely."
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) November 27, 2021
Graham Potter reacts to fans booing at full-time after Brighton drew 0-0 with Leeds... pic.twitter.com/E646dyBvIG
It clearly irritated Potter, which is suboptimal considering the amount of teams that would be interested in poaching him from Brighton.
Fans, of course, are entitled to their opinion, and Brighton have deserved some criticism at times this season, but to express it after this performance is seriously misguided.
Merseyside derby at wrong time for Rafa
Did anyone really expect the coupling of Everton and Rafa Benítez to last? After all, it was a strange summer appointment that was sure to sour in the event of any adversity.
After a smart start to the season, Everton's seven-game stretch without a win spells danger for Rafa, especially with a midweek Merseyside derby upcoming.
Everton's overarching issues were evident in the televised 1-0 defeat to Brentford on Sunday (xG: BRE 1.23 - 1.25 EVE), struggling to create chances despite trailing for the majority of the match.
Admittedly, injuries have been a huge factor, but Rafa's side have scored just four goals and averaged 1.17 expected goals for (xGF) per game during the winless run. Everton fans didn't need much of an excuse to turn on their manager, and now they have several.
A strong showing against their city rivals might alleviate pressure, but a degrading defeat against a Liverpool team averaging 3 goals and 2.73 xGF per game is more likely, which might make Benítez's position untenable.
Jorgin-oh
In quite the feat, Jorginho earned both Chelsea and Manchester United a point in Sunday's marquee match, atoning for a costly error by dispatching his penalty.
His mistake wasn't the only example of tentative behaviour under the lights at Stamford Bridge, though.
A 1-1 draw at Chelsea might well be something to celebrate for any team, but Manchester United's display shows just have far they have fallen this season, offering almost nothing before and after Jorginho's gift to Jadon Sancho, while allowing 2.86 expected goals against (xGA).
Aside from Sancho's goal (0.82 xG), United attempted just two shots equating to 0.06 xG in what was another substandard attacking effort after barely troubling Watford and Manchester City in recent weeks.
In fact, United have taken only 17 shots in the Premier League during the month of November, highlighting the huge task newly-appointed interim manager Ralf Rangnick has at hand.
The result against Chelsea might breed some confidence, but the performance was hardly inspiring.
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