Coventry 4-1 Newcastle: ruthless finishing on a third of the ball
AI-written review based on match data · How we make it
Key numbers
- 33% possession, yet ahead for 84 minutes
- Four goals from 1.47 xG: clinical finishing
- Newcastle: 19 shots, six on target, one goal
A lead built early and held to the end
Coventry beat Newcastle 4-1 at home despite seeing only a third of the ball. Jack Rudoni's penalty put them in front in the sixth minute, and they were ahead for 84 minutes from there. Newcastle, with 67% possession, spent the rest of the match chasing a scoreline that had already tilted away from them.
Efficient rather than busy
Coventry were efficient rather than busy. Their shots on target were well above the average of their seven matches this season, and their xG per shot was higher than Newcastle's. Four goals from 1.47 xG means they comfortably outperformed expectation, so finishing, more than volume, defined the result.
Newcastle created more, finished less
Newcastle's numbers looked healthy on paper: an xG of 1.87 was higher than Coventry's. Only six of their 19 shots were on target, though, and Carl Rushworth made four saves to restrict them to a single goal. Plenty of possession and plenty of shots did not add up to a cutting edge in front of goal.
Cherif's goal after the break made it two
Sidiki Cherif's goal in the 48th minute doubled the lead and was worth +0.7 FN xPts, the same as the penalty. Sven Botman pulled one back, but Ellis Simms restored the two-goal cushion, and Stephen Mfuni's late fourth was worth next to nothing in FN xPts. Milan van Ewijk, one of the pre-match changes as Coventry moved from three at the back to 4-2-3-1, led the match with five defensive actions.
FN MOM
Highest FN Score · our own pick by a published formula, not the official Player of the Match
Nico González 8.3Dominant
Six key passes, four tackles and an assist from midfield.
González was involved at both ends of the pitch. He completed 58 of 69 passes, won four of his seven duels and created Sven Botman's goal in the 70th minute that cut the deficit to 2-1. Coventry then added two more before full-time, which left his contribution without a reward in the result.
Game state
1-02-02-13-14-1
Coventry ahead 84 min · level 6 min · Newcastle ahead 0 min
FN xPts — what each moment was worth
How much each moment changed that team's expected points (win 3, draw 1). A goal's value is credited 70% to the scorer and 30% to the assist. The value next to a team code is what the same moment did to the other side's expected points; the decisive moment is the one with the largest combined change for both teams.
6'
Jack Rudoni
Pen goal · NEW −0.7
+0.7
48'
Sidiki Cherif
Goal · NEW −0.5
+0.7
70'
Sven Botman
Goal · scorer +0.3 · assist Nico González +0.1 · COV −0.6
+0.4
81'
Ellis Simms
Goal · scorer +0.3 · assist Brandon Thomas-Asante +0.1 · NEW −0.2
+0.4
86'
Stephen Mfuni
Goal · assist Jay DaSilva · NEW 0.0
0.0
Coventry
Expected (last two seasons) 0.8Own moments +1.8Opponent moments −0.6Time effect +1.0→ League points won 3
Newcastle
Expected (last two seasons) 1.9Own moments +0.4Opponent moments −1.4Time effect −0.9→ League points won 0
Expected points don't add up to a fixed total (a draw is 1 + 1), so an opponent's moment isn't simply the mirror of your loss. "Time effect" is the change as the clock runs down on a lead or a chase, and isn't credited to any player.
How FN Score and FN xPts work →
Match stats
CoventryNewcastle
1.47Expected goals (xG)1.87
Compared with usual
Coventry
7 matches this season, all competitions baseline
| This match | Avg | |
|---|
| Goals | 4 | 0.86 | |
| Conceded | 1 | 2.1 | |
| xG | 1.47 | 0.97 | |
| xG against | 1.87 | 1.7 | |
| Shots | 9 | 11.1 | |
| On target | 6 | 3.7 | |
| Shots faced | 19 | 16.6 | |
| xG per shot | 0.16 | 0.09 | |
| Possession | 33% | 43.4% | |
| Passes | 261 | 374.6 | |
| Corners | 2 | 3.6 | |
| Fouls | 3 | 12.9 | |
Newcastle
7 matches this season, all competitions baseline
| This match | Avg | |
|---|
| Goals | 1 | 1.9 | |
| Conceded | 4 | 1.6 | |
| xG | 1.87 | 1.1 | |
| xG against | 1.47 | 1.8 | |
| Shots | 19 | 13.1 | |
| On target | 6 | 4.4 | |
| Shots faced | 9 | 17 | |
| xG per shot | 0.1 | 0.11 | |
| Possession | 67% | 52.1% | |
| Passes | 527 | 438.4 | |
| Corners | 6 | 6.1 | |
| Fouls | 10 | 12.4 | |
Timeline
- 6'
Goal
Jack Rudoni (pen) league goal #1
- 48'
Goal
Sidiki Cherif league goal #1
- 59'
Sub
Lewis Miley → Amar Dedić
- 59'
Sub
Joe Willock → Joelinton
- 59'
Sub
Jacob Murphy → Bazoumana Touré
- 61'
Sub
Ephron Mason-Clark → Tatsuhiro Sakamoto
- 66'
Yellow
Milan van Ewijk
- 70'
Goal
Sven Botman league goal #1 assist Nico González
- 78'
Sub
Yoane Wissa → William Osula
- 78'
Sub
Sidiki Cherif → Ellis Simms
- 78'
Sub
Caleb Marfo Yirenkyi → Frank Onyeka
- 81'
Yellow
Joelinton
- 81'
Goal
Ellis Simms league goal #1 assist Brandon Thomas-Asante
- 83'
Sub
Matt Grimes → Stephen Mfuni
- 83'
Sub
Jack Rudoni → Victor Torp
- 86'
Goal
Stephen Mfuni league goal #1 assist Jay DaSilva
- 90'
Sub
Bazoumana Touré → Dan Burn
Category leaders
- Key passesNico González6
- Duels wonSven Botman11/14
- DribblesMatías Fernández-Pardo2/2
- Defensive actionsMilan van Ewijk5
- ShotsJoe Willock5 (on target 0)
- Fouls wonJack Rudoni3
#Coventry#Newcastle#Premier League#Nico González#Sidiki Cherif#Jack Rudoni
This review was written by AI from match data (API-Football). FN Score and FN xPts are calculated by Fulltime Note using a published formula.