rewrite this title Premier League MD13: Lucky winners and unlucky losers – Soccer News

Liverpool are now nine points clear at the top of the Premier League, after claiming a 2-0 win over Manchester City at Anfield.

It is fair to say the Reds, who accumulated 3.3 expected goals and had 18 shots, were more than worthy of their victory on Sunday, as City lost a fourth straight league match.

But was that the case across the board this weekend? Which teams were unlucky, and which sides got lucky, when comparing the underlying metrics to their actual results?

Here, we use Opta data to find out.

Unlucky losers: Everton

The away end at Old Trafford was mostly empty by the time full-time rolled around on Sunday, as Manchester United claimed their first league win under new boss Ruben Amorim in style, beating Everton 4-0.

But it’s fair to say that Sean Dyche’s team had started brightly, albeit without offering too much in the way of a threat. United’s opening two goals came via a deflection and then a mistake from Jarrad Branthwaite, who was heavily linked with a move to the Red Devils in the summer.

While Everton cannot be considered unfortunate to lose, the metrics do suggest United were far more clinical than would have been anticipated based on the chances that came their way, as Joshua Zirkzee and Marcus Rashford both netted doubles.

United created just 1.0 xG, while having 11 shots, just three more than the Toffees. Amorim’s side took all three of their big chances (defined as an opportunity from which a player would reasonably be expected to score). Everton had only 13 touches in United’s box, though, as for all their bright play in the opening 30 minutes, they failed to make any real inroads.

Lucky winners: Newcastle United

Newcastle did not get all three points against Crystal Palace on Saturday, though they were just moments away from doing so. Daniel Munoz headed home late on after connecting with a cross from Marc Guehi, who had bundled in an own goal to give the Magpies the lead.

Yet Newcastle should really consider themselves fortunate to come away with even a point, considering the match metrics.

Eddie Howe claimed his team were in control, yet they failed to have a single shot on target, had only one attempt throughout the entire match and finished with 0.04 xG – by some distance the lowest of any Premier League team this weekend.

Palace’s 1.8 xG was the fifth-highest total, on the other hand. The Eagles had 16 attempts, meaning their per-shot xG of 0.11 was higher than Newcastle’s entire xG across the match.

Unlucky losers: Brighton

Brighton were left to rue some missed opportunities as they drew 1-1 with Southampton in Friday’s south coast derby.

The Seagulls accumulated 1.7 xG and had 22 shots, which is at least four more than any other team in the division across the weekend’s matches, while their 44 touches in the opposition box was also a league-high.

Yet they could not build on Kaoru Mitoma’s opener, and were ultimately punished when Flynn Downes netted just before the hour.

Southampton created 1.0 xG, so it is not as though they were unworthy of at least a goal, but Fabian Hurzeler will no doubt believe his team should have been out of sight.