Astonishing stat suggests Wolves should’ve beaten Chelsea despite 6-2 thrashing
Wolverhampton Wanderers fans will be shocked to discover their side technically should’ve beaten Chelsea – or at least that’s what’s suggested by the post-match statistics.
The Old Gold suffered a freak result on Sunday afternoon as Gary O’Neil’s side threw away a 2-2 draw at half-time and were thrashed 6-2 following a second-half capitulation. Positional awareness was totally absent from much of Wolves’ defence and players appeared to lose their heads amid on-field tensions.
In terms of the quality of chances created through the match, however, Wanderers perhaps should’ve claimed all three points. It sounds crazy, but Wolves actually beat Chelsea on the expected goals (xG) metric.
Yes, that’s right, according to The xG Philosophy, Wolves created 2.11 xG compared to Chelsea’s 1.65.
That might seem like total nonsense given the eventual result at Molineux but it’s a metric being utilised increasingly often by clubs in the Premier League. O’Neil has even mentioned xG in several press conferences when Wolves have lost, not to excuse results but to display his side perhaps deserved more.
O’Neil certainly didn’t use the xG stat after the Chelsea demolition as it would’ve likely caused an uproar among supporters, but the head coach could assess the metric during his analysis.
The 6-2 defeat seemed a freak result and it indeed was, backed up by the stats.
There were scouts galore at Compton on Friday afternoon as Wolves made 7 changes to the side that lost on Monday. Alfie Pond, Joe Hodge, Nigel Lonwijk and Dexter Lembikisa were the likely focus of attention whilst Nelson Semedo also started as he continues to serve out his first-team suspension.
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