Brasileirão’s week 10 is over and we bring you some of the highlights of this week. If you would like a more detailed explanation of the graphs used, please see this text here. Let’s check out the matches!
Fortaleza 2 x 0 Avaí
- Wellington Paulista is very aware of his role in Fortaleza’s scheme. The striker positions himself very close to the 18 yard box, is not very involved in passing and finishes whenever he can. The team passed more frequently on the left side, and goalkeeper Felipe Alves played higher up, helping play build up.
- Avaí, now coached by Alberto Valentim, tried to press Fortaleza and positioned many players on the attacking side of the field. The strategy was interesting and generated some goal opportunities (saved by Felipe Alves). However Fortaleza overcame the pressure and explored spaces in Avaí’s defense.
- Expected Goals:
- Fortaleza = 1.16
- Avaí = 0.56
Grêmio 2 x 1 Vasco
- Grêmio was good in attack offensive against Vasco, especially in the second half. Pepê played very well, close to Luan and infiltrating the penalty box. The tricolor gaúcho controlled the middle with Thaciano, Jean Pyerre, Matheus Henrique, Juninho Capixaba and Léo Moura passing between each other.
- The Vasco had a good 1st half, containing Grêmio and restricting their chances, but ended up giving up spaces throughout the rest of the game. Coach Vanderlei Luxembourg positioned Valdivia as a false 9 in an effort to give the team more mobility. The players who were able to shoot were usually surprise elements, such as Danilo Barcelos, Lucas Mineiro and Raúl.
- Expected Goals:
- Grêmio = 1.62
- Vasco = 0.66
Athletico PR 1 x 0 Internacional
- Athletico dominated the ball against Inter with Lucho and Bruno Guimarães at the base of midfield. In the attack, Marco Ruben left the area to work as a target-man and made for Ronny to explore inside the box. Nikão had a good performance, he was the main chance creator of the parananese team.
- Inter spared most of the starters and attempted to use counter attacks. Many balls were stretched to Tréllez (mainly by Heitor and Marcelo Lomba). However, the Colombian does not have the same quality as the starter Guerrero and did not take advantage of the chances he had.
- Expected Goals:
- Athletico PR = 1.68
- Internacional = 0.94
Flamengo 6 x 1 Goiás
- Flamengo set the record for most finishes in a single game in this year’s Brasileirão with 31 shots. The team attacked with 7 players: Trauco and Rafinha helped Diego and Willian Arão in the middle, giving freedom to the offensive quartet. Highlight to the memorable performance of Arrascaeta.
- Goiás was a mere spectator in this match, and had very little chances to shoot. On the few occasions the team had the ball, the it tried to pass on the left without success. The player who worked the most was the goalkeeper Tadeu, despite conceding 6 goals he still managed to make great saves.
- Expected Goals:
- Flamengo = 3.65
- Goiás = 0.36
Cruzeiro 0 x 0 Botafogo
- Cruzeiro finished very few times against Botafogo, all shots were from outside the box. The team understood that it was difficult to find spaces and the attackers stepped back to help in the midfield. They missed some element of surprise stepping inside the box to complement the movement.
- Botafogo also did not have many finishes in the match against Cruzeiro. The Carioca team prioritized to defend themselves and attacked with few men. Diego Souza was often isolated at the front. Alex Santana was the one who most managed to find spaces and shoot.
- Expected Goals:
- Cruzeiro = 0.18
- Botafogo = 0.32
Bahia 0 x 1 Santos
- Bahia created most of its opportunities with Artur Victor, playing out on the wings (mainly on the right). Without Nino Paraíba, Moisés was the more offensive fullback while Ezequiel was more on defense. Gilberto missed a great goal opportunity he had.
- Sampaoli deployed Santos with and interesting tactical scheme. With 3 defenders, the fullbacks Jorge and Ferraz were able to advance. Uribe stepped back to be involved in passing with the midfielders while Soteldo and Sasha remained wide and forward. Pituca was the central axis of the team and distributing passes.
- Expected Goals:
- Bahia = 1.03
- Santos = 0.83
São Paulo 1 x 1 Palmeiras
- Sao Paulo had a good first half in the derby against Palmeiras. The team played better while Pablo was on the field, helping to open spaces in the opponent’s defense. Tchê Tchê has contributed a lot to the São Paulo, chasing the opponent’s midfielders and helping to create chances.
- Palmeiras had most of its chances in the derby on the right side. Gustavo Scarpa, Dudu and Marcos Rocha played on that side and most of the opportunities involved at least of one of them. The team had some good shots, but the performance was worse than what the team had been presenting before the Copa America break.
- Expected Goals:
- São Paulo = 0.75
- Palmeiras = 0.58
Corinthians 1 x 0 CSA
- Corinthians created a lot against CSA, it was the match in which the team had the most shots in this Brasileirão (25 shots). Corinthians attacked with 6 players, and managed to have good chances within the penalty box. Sornoza had 7 finishes and Clayson created several opportunities with passes.
- CSA was cornered by Corinthians and little could produce in the match. Apodi, who is crucial in starting counter attacks, was well marked by Danilo Avelar. It would be interesting to have someone open on the left wing, giving amplitude and exploring spaces when the opponent’s right back attacks..
- Expected Goals:
- Corinthians = 2.12
- CSA = 0.09
Chapecoense 1 x 2 Atlético MG
- Chapecoense passed more frequently on the left, where Camilo and Bruno Pacheco played very close to each other. Also on the left side, Artur Gomes had a good performance and created several chances. However, Chape conceded spaces for Atlético’s midfielders and attackers storm Tiepo’s goal.
- Atlético has created many of his opportunities in set pieces balls, with Otero tacking them and Iago Maidana winning the duels inside the box. Atlético moved the ball a lot on the left side with Lucas Hernandéz, who exchanged passed frequently to Ricardo Oliveira, Vinícius and Otero.
- Expected Goals:
- Chapecoense = 1.59
- Atlético MG = 2.53
Fluminense 1 x 1 Ceará
- Fluminense once again had intense offensive volume. Pedro played very well and besides shooting 9 times he also attracted the centre backs, opening spaces for João Pedro and Yony. The midfielder Yuri retreated to the defensive lines to start out the attacks.
- Ceará had few chances against Flu but managed to be efficient and go out with a draw. The main highlight of the team was goalkeeper Diogo Silva, who made miraculous saves avoiding a defeat. The point should be celebrated, but the team needs to study how to improve defensively.
- Expected Goals:
- Fluminense = 1.88
- Ceará = 0.4
Observations:
Own goals and penalties were not considered for expected goals calculations
Algolritmo's founder. I have a bachelor's in Computer Science and a master's in Analytics. My goal is to bring a new perspective into Brazilian football. I'm particularly interested in communicating complex ideas through simple data visualizations.
I graduated in Computer Science and Business Administration at the University of Southern California and got a masters degree in Analytics at the same institution. I have worked as a Data Science intern at companies such as Facebook, Itaú and Looqbox.