Shakhtar Donetsk vs Inter Milan Preview: xG, shot map, creative zones and more – what do the stats say? | OneFootball

Shakhtar Donetsk and Inter Milan will look to earn their first point this season when they face each other at the NSC “Olympiyskiy” in the Group D match of UEFA Champions League 2021/22. Both the teams lost their opening group match and will look to return to winning ways.

Shakhtar Donetsk suffered a shocking 2-0 defeat against debutants FC Sheriff Tiraspol. The Ukrainian club dominated the match, but the players were unable to score. Shakhtar had 71% of the ball possession and created 50 positional attacks in the match.

The above viz is the shot map of Shakhtar players and it shows that 22 shots were attempted in the match. The xG rate was 1.03 and nine shots were attempted from inside the opposition box. Four shots were on target and three of them were from inside the box.

Shakhtar attacked a lot in the match and the most creative zone was the wide left side. Shakhtar also attacked a lot from the centre and this can be noticed in the above viz. Pedrinho created the highest xT from passes for his side.

Shakhtar Donetsk biggest problem in the match was scoring goals. The Ukrainian just managed to hit the target four times and the accuracy rate was below 20%. The xG rate was less despite attempting twice as many shots as their opponents.

Inter Milan lost their first match against Real Madrid by 1-0 after conceding a goal in the 89th minute.

Inter Milan xG rate was very high in the match. The Serie A defending champions attempted 15 shots in the match and five shots were on target. Inzaghi’s side only attempted three shots from outside the box and all the other shots were attempted from inside the opposition box. There were five headed shots attempted in the match.

Inter attacked from both the flanks as well as from the middle. Nicola Barella was the most threatening player for Inter with his passing. The Italian international eight passes landed in the opposition 18-yard box and one pass landed in the 6-yard box. Barella, Perisic and Dimarco attempted three crosses each in the match. Brozovic attempted more than 100 passes for his team.

Inter players were also less clinical with their finishing. The xG rate was more than two and the team was unable to convert any chances. Another area where Inter struggled was winning the loose ball duels. The players were unable to win these duels in the middle and attacking third. Only five duels were won out of a possible 17.

Both the teams struggled to score goals in their opening matches. The teams created enough chances in their matches and carried a constant threat. Both the managers will expect their teams to score more goals and return back to winning ways.