UEFA Champions League 2021/22: The key reasons behind Inter’s failure to score vs Real Madrid – stats | OneFootball

A last-minute winner from Rodrygo saw Real Madrid beat Inter Milan at San Siro on Wednesday night in what was the opener for both sides in the UEFA Champions League.

We’ve broken down all the key stats for you to digest, including;

* shot maps

* xT (expected threat)

* pass networks

* xG timelines

* defensive duels

* average positions and much more!

We also try to answer some questions for you with the visuals:

Why did Inter lose the game even after having a higher xG?

To navigate the stats gallery simply click on the numbers to move through the pages.

At the end of the gallery, you’ll be able to download the full PDF stats report.

Inter started the match in a 3-5-2 formation with Eden Dzeko and Lautaro Martinez leading the charge.

Inter played predominantly in the opposition half near the centre line.

Real Madrid came out on the pitch in a 4-3-3 with the trio of Vinicius Jr, Karim Benzema and Lucas Vazquez upfront.

Real played mostly near the centre with a relatively high defensive line.

Inter Milan had 15 shots in the match with five on target with an xG of 2.09 but failed to score any thanks to Thibaut Courtois who saved four clear goalscoring attempts from the home team.

Real however took 13 shots with a relatively lower xG of 1.37 with just two shots on target. Both the teams were equally defensively active.

Vinicius Jr had the most shots in the match(4) tied with Inter’s Ivan Perisic who also had four shots and the highest xG of 0.50. Dzeko also had an xG of 0.50 with one less shot. Marcelo Brozovic played 21 passes into the final third.

Inter had almost all shots inside the box sometimes trying from a distance as well but Courtois saved all chances they had of scoring.

Real had most shots from the left side of the field, some inside and some around the box. They had only two shots on target, scoring from one of them inside the box.

xT timeline clearly shows that Inter were the more dominant side among the two yet failed to score a goal. Real were not that threatening throughout the match but were clinical and buried the only chance they got and with it the match.

Inter had 47% of the ball possession with Marcelo Brozovic completing 107 passes during the match and in turn, receiving the ball 92 times as well.

Real Madrid had 53% of the ball with Luka Modric attempting the most passes (78) and Dani Carvajal receiving the most(57).

Inter played the most passes near the centre in midfield completing three successful smart passes. They used both flanks equally to deliver crosses into the box.

Real played most of their passes near the wings on both flanks. They played a lot of smart passes, only one of them was successful in creating the chance for the goal. They delivered crosses mainly from the right-wing with Carvajal and Fede Valverde playing the most crosses(4).

Inter had the highest xT zones inside the box and on the right-wing. Stefan de Vrij had the best passing accuracy of 94.03%.

Nicolo Barella had the highest xT from passing(0.84) while Denzel Dumfries had the most from dribbles (0.032).

Real’s highest xT creation zones were near the right-wing. Vinicius was the best passer with an accuracy of 95.65%

Inter lost the majority of their defensive duels in the defensive third with Bastoni losing out on six occasions while Dumfries and Skriniar on four.

They were however comparatively better in the air. Bastoni won all of his duels while Dzeko was impressive in the other half of the pitch.

They were poor in loose ball recoveries. Calhanoglu, de Vrij and Darmian lost all of their duels.

Real were pretty solid in the defensive third but poor in midfield. David Alaba won three duels at the back while Casemiro lost five of his duels in the mid of the pitch.

They were mediocre in the air. Alaba lost all of his aerial duels while Modric, Militao and Camavinga were impressive.

Real won the majority of the 50-50 balls with impressive performances from Alaba and Valverde.

Inter would feel unlucky to lose the match at home even after dominating the match and being the better team on the pitch. They still have five matches to come back and with this kind of performance, they would not be a team to reckon with. Real Madrid certainly were lucky in grabbing all points at the last minute but they really need to be more creative in the attacking third to fare well in the competition.

If you want to download the stats in PDF format you can do it here: UCL Stats Analysis: Inter Milan vs Real Madrid