Starting the Match Analysis
Okay so last night I decided to break down that Inter Milan vs Bayern Champions League game everyone’s talking about. First thing I did was grab my laptop around 8PM and fire up the UEFA official site to pull stats. Scrolled past all the flashy videos – just wanted cold numbers.
Started noticing some weird patterns immediately. Bayern had crazy 70% possession but their shots on target? Only 3 out of 15 tries. That’s when I opened my notes app and made three columns: Inter stats, Bayern stats and What’s fishy.
Digging Deeper Into Numbers
My coffee went cold while I was comparing these things:
- Inter’s goalkeeper saves: 7 vs Neuer’s 2
- Those wild yellow cards: 5 for Inter, only 1 for Bayern
- Corners? 11 for Bayern but not one led to goal
Saw xG stats pop up and thought “alright let’s check this magic number”. Bayern’s expected goals was like 2.8 but they scored zip. Makes you wonder about their strikers right?
Then I spotted the real story: midfield battles. Brozovic and Calhanoglu completed way more passes under pressure than Kimmich. Screenshotted that heatmap showing Inter’s defensive bloc – looked like a brick wall near their box.
Putting It All Together
Around midnight I started connecting dots. Bayern’s fancy possession means nothing if they can’t shoot straight. Inter’s dirty tackles? Annoying but effective. Made this quick comparison chart:
- High possession ≠ goals (obviously)
- More fouls can actually be good strategy
- Goalies win matches sometimes
Finally closed everything at 1AM thinking “stats don’t lie but you gotta read between lines”. Like why did Bayern keep crossing when Inter’s defenders are giants? Makes zero sense unless their coach panicked.
Anyway that’s how my Wednesday night went down the stats rabbit hole. Next time I’ll track how often Lewandowski touches grass versus standing around waiting.