Fluminense v Palmeiras among lowest for ball-in-play under new rules | OneFootball

Fluminense’s 3-2 win over Palmeiras last Saturday (15) posted one of the lowest ball-in-play rates among the matches of the 23rd round of the Brazilian Championship, notably in the first round after the implementation of new rules aimed at fighting so-called “time-wasting” in Brazilian football.

According to the data released after the round, the ball was in play for 51.9% of the time in the match between Fluminense and Palmeiras. That figure placed the game eighth in the ranking among the nine matches played in the round.

Although it was below the weekend average, the rate in the Maracanã clash stands out when compared with the championship’s overall performance. Over the first 22 rounds, the average ball-in-play rate was 51.5%. In the 23rd round, that number jumped to 56.5%.

In other words, even with one of the lowest rates of the round, the match between Fluminense and Palmeiras was still above the average recorded in the Brasileirão up to that point.

The difference between the averages represents an increase of five percentage points in actual playing time. The rise comes right after the adoption of stricter measures to reduce delays in restarting play and other situations that contribute to reducing effective playing time in matches.

The match with the highest percentage of ball in play in the round was Athletico-PR vs. RB Bragantino, at 62.1%. Next came São Paulo vs. Coritiba, at 59.8%, and Atlético-MG vs. Grêmio, along with Mirassol vs. Flamengo, both at 58.9%.

Check out the full ranking:

Fluminense dominated possession and created more chances

Even with the ball-in-play percentage below the round average, Fluminense managed to control much of the match against Palmeiras. The Tricolor finished the game with 60% possession, compared to the opponent’s 40%.

The team also had the edge in attacking output. Fluminense had 17 shots to Palmeiras’ 15, in addition to six shots on target for each side. The team temporarily coached by Marcão also recorded four big chances, while the opponent had only one.

Another stat that highlights the strong performance is the 2.18 expected goals (xG), compared to Palmeiras’ 1.10.

Fluminense were also better in moving the ball: they made 487 passes, with 429 completed. Palmeiras finished with 317 passes, 261 of which reached their target.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.