So yesterday’s match got me thinking hard – why did Arsenal struggle against Monaco? I grabbed my laptop right after dinner, aiming to dig into the numbers myself.
Opening the Stats Websites
First thing, I pulled up some sports sites. Needed basic numbers but everyone just throws flashy charts at you. Annoying. Finally found two simple tables listing passes and shots at halftime.
Collecting Raw Numbers
- Jotted down possession percentages on sticky notes – Arsenal had like 63%
- Counted goal attempts on fingers: 14 for Arsenal, only 5 for Monaco?
- Scribbled corner kicks near my coffee stain – 7 vs 2
Spotting The Weird Disconnect
Here’s where I scratched my head. Arsenal dominated possession but Monaco scored first. Made zero sense! My cat walked over the notes when I spread them on the floor. Typical.
Dug deeper into second half stats:
- Arsenal’s passes mostly sideways in midfield – useless
- Monaco made 3 shots count – all on target
- Final score: 1-1 with Arsenal equalizing late
The Lightbulb Moment
Suddenly it clicked watching replay clips. High possession ≠ good chances! Arsenal passed scared while Monaco attacked sharp. My coffee went cold realizing this.
Key Takeaways
- Stats lie if you don’t see how play develops
- Possession means nothing without cutting edge
- Sometimes low numbers beat fancy percentages
Still messy notes everywhere but learned more doing this than reading fancy analyses. Football’s funny that way.
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