Everton should be encouraged by the amount of expected goals they created in their 1-0 defeat by Fulham says Sean Dyche, even though he "isn't a big believer" in the metric.
The Toffees racked up 2.73 xG to Fulham's 1.50 at Goodison on Saturday from 15 attempts (nine on target).
What is xG or expected goals?
- xG uses a huge bank of historical information from thousands of attempts on goal giving each a probability of being scored.
- Chances are ranked between 0.01 & 0.99. A long-range shot will have around a 3% chance of being scored, so the xG value is 0.03. A one-on-one will generally be between 0.35 and 0.60.
- Adding these values up for every attempt on goal in a game gives you an xG total for a team.
Neal Maupay, starting up front in place of the injury-plagued Dominic Calvert-Lewin who is expected to return within the fortnight, was particularly wasteful, extending his barren record to one goal in 30 appearances for Everton.
“One of our analysts said our xG, which I’m not that big a believer in but it’s still a reference point, was around three, which is high in the Premier League," said Dyche.
“Inevitably, it’s only a measure but we’ve got to look at where we were and where we are now – and that, I thought, was a big shift.
“Some of the breakaways, some of the moments, some of the quality of chances were excellent.
"Now we’ve got to find those moments to go and score goals. But there’s a real strong sign there, a strong sign of a good outfit that is creating lots of chances and a lot of good things, so we’ve got to maintain the belief in that."
Sean Dyche “not a big believer in xG”.
— Sporting Life Football (@InfogolApp) August 13, 2023
Or is he…🤔
🔵 Everton 0-1 Fulham
xG: 2.73-1.50#Everton #EFC pic.twitter.com/nlCR7gwEBG
More from Sporting Life
- Fixtures, results and live scores
- Expert xG analysis and features
- Transfer news and done deals
- Football and other sports tips
- Download our free iOS and Android app
- Podcasts and video content
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.
