Despite defeat, Sporting made history v Arsenal in the Champions League | OneFootball

Sporting were the team that allowed Arsenal the fewest dangerous chances in this season’s Champions League. Despite the 1-0 defeat at the José Alvalade Stadium, the Lions significantly limited the English side’s attacking output.

According to GoalPoint data, Arsenal finished the match with just 0.78 xG (expected goals), the lowest figure recorded by Mikel Arteta's team in the competition. This number was heavily influenced by Kai Havertz’s goal, which alone accounted for 0.62 xG.

Without that moment, the Londoners would have ended the entire game with just 0.16 xG created, an extremely low figure. In fact, that would have been Arsenal’s lowest total of the season across both the Champions League and the Premier League.

Throughout the season, only Brighton (0.47 xG), Liverpool (0.49 xG and 0.57 xG) and Brentford (0.60 xG) managed to restrict the Gunners’ attack even more. Interestingly, in those matches, Arsenal failed to win, recording either draws or defeats.

So far, in the Champions League, the English side have already faced Athletic Bilbao, Olympiacos, Atlético de Madrid, Slavia Prague, Bayern Munich, Club Brugge, Inter, Kairat and Bayer Leverkusen, and it was against Sporting that they found it hardest to create danger.

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