Sabah 2-0 Slavia Praha: result and report

Report

Sabah beat Slavia Praha 2-0 in the Champions League, though the scoreline tells only half the story. Slavia Praha created the better chances by a distance. Sabah took theirs, while their goalkeeper kept everything else out.

The first half was goalless, but Sabah struck soon after the restart. Kaheem Parris scored on 49 minutes, set up by Ivan Lepinjica.

Slavia Praha still could not find a way back. Instead, Joy-Lance Mickels settled it on 88 minutes, with Orphé Mbina providing the assist.

Slavia Praha: chances made, chances missed

Slavia Praha's problem was finishing, not creating. They finished with 2.93 xG to Sabah's 1.09 and made five big chances to Sabah's one. They missed all five.

The wider picture points the same direction, because they also had eight shots on target to six, 16 key passes to seven and 51 dangerous attacks to 24. They were also the side applying the sustained pressure across the match. A goalless night is hard to explain by a lack of opportunity.

Sabah still made the most of a modest attacking return. They turned 1.09 xG into two goals, which is the one sign that this was not purely a night of survival.

Stas Pokatilov's night

Much of the explanation sits in the Sabah goal. Sabah made six saves, and goalkeeper Stas Pokatilov was named player of the match with a rating of 8.23. A goalkeeper taking that award in a 2-0 home win says plenty about where this game was decided.