I Finally Understand Soccer Stats | New Soccer Fan Reacts

Added: 2026-05-23

[00:00:00]Yo, what's good YouTube man? Welcome back to another reaction video. In today's video reacted to Football Stats Explained, man. So, uh you guys know that I'm new to learning this sport, new to learning the game of soccer, new to learning the game of football. So, uh I don't really know all of the stats.

[00:00:14]Let's say all of the stats. Goals, uh assist um bro, I'm blinking right now. Goals, assist uh uh uh I don't know, bro. I'm blinking. I'm blinking out. I'm blinking out. But this the purpose of this video today. We learning about all of the stats, man. If it's your first time here, this time is here to help me learn more about the game of soccer to help me get ingrained into the culture. So, if you guys want to join that journey, man, you already know what to do. Hit that like button, hit that subscribe button as well, and let's get into these football stats, man. I can't wait to start using them.

[00:00:44]Uh, I can't wait to start using them.

[00:00:45]All right, so we got goals, assist, shots, shots on target, possession, pass completion, uh, key passes, tackles, interceptions file, set pieces, uh, XG, XGA, big chances, clean sheets, man.

[00:00:58]Let's do it, bro.

[00:00:59]>> Goals are hands down the single most important thing in football because they're literally what decide who wins.

[00:01:04]>> You got to score the goal line between the posts without going out of play or being handled illegally. It counts as one goal for the team that scored it.

[00:01:15]>> Gotcha. We know this.

[00:01:17]>> The team with more goals wins the game.

[00:01:19]If the numbers are the same, it's a draw. Even if a team dominates the whole match with tons of possession and shots, if they don't put the ball in the net more times than the opponent, they don't get the three points.

[00:01:28]>> Yeah.

[00:01:29]>> And I think if it's a draw, right, both teams get uh get one point, right? I think it's something like that. Y'all correct me if I'm wrong, but uh look at look at the players I'm learning, bro.

[00:01:38]We got Highland, uh Harry Kane, and Bee.

[00:01:43]We getting there.

[00:01:44]>> Strikers like Harland or Harry Kane are so valuable. They turn chances into actual goals that change results. Goals can come from open play, penalties, free kicks, corners, or even deflections. No matter how they happen, they're the only stat that directly puts points on the table.

[00:02:00]>> Assists, an assist to the player who makes the very last or does the final key action that directly sets up a teammate to score a goal.

[00:02:08]>> For sure, we know about assist.

[00:02:09]>> Crosses the ball perfectly into the box and the striker heads it. The thing I have about assist though is it like a certain because you know in basketball has assists and all that but in basketball you have like a it's like a certain I don't know if it's uh a certain amount of dribbles that you can do before it's not classified as an assist or a certain amount of seconds. Is it the same thing?

[00:02:30]Obviously you're it's not going to be an assist. If if I have the ball here and I'm dribbling it and I throw it to somebody on the wing and they're standing there for two seconds then they jab, then they then they do a size up and then they shoot the ball. That's not an assist. You know what I mean? So, it's the same thing with soccer. Is it like a certain time period? Can they Can you give them the ball? Can you kick them the ball and they take two dribbles and then kick the ball? Is that still considered an assist or do they does it have to be like do they have to shoot it like right as soon as you get the ball?

[00:03:01]So, if I pass you the ball, do you have to immediately try to try to score it for that to be an assist? You guys know what I'm saying? I'm kind of explaining a little weird, but I think y'all get it. gets an assist or if a midfielder threads a brilliant through ball for a forward to run onto and finish that's an assist too. This stat is really useful because it shines a light on the creative playak might not score a ton themselves but are brilliant at making things happen for others. Kevin De Bruyne who often tops assist charts season after season. Without good assist makers, even the best finishers would struggle. True reward.

[00:03:31]>> After 14 years, Bert Jones failed to cut property taxes even as they skyro >> teamwork and vision and they're tracked separately so fans can see who the real playmakers are on the pitch.

[00:03:42]>> Shots. A shot is every single time a player tries to score by kicking, heading, voling, or otherwise directing the ball toward the opponent's goal.

[00:03:51]Counts, no matter where the shot comes from, whether it's a powerful strike from 30 yards out, a cheeky chip from the edge of the box, a blocked effort, or even one that sails way over the bar into the stands. The total number of shots a team takes shows how attacking they're being and how much pressure they're putting on the other side's defense. A team with 20 shots in a game is clearly trying hard to score.

[00:04:11]>> So So okay, what's the most amount of shots you've ever seen in a game? What's the most amount? Getting 20 shots off of you in the game is kind of like uh See, I haven't been watching this. I haven't been watching the sport long enough, but 20 shots in the game, is that kind of bad? Like they had a chance to score 20 times on you. Is that kind of bad? Is that like your defense or is that just maybe they're just like you said maybe they're just an aggressive team?

[00:04:40]What What is it to What is it to is the defense just ass or is the offense just more aggressive if they're if they have 20 shot attempts in a game?

[00:04:50]>> I think that's bad or struggling to create chances.

[00:04:54]>> Maybe it's not equal. Some are hopeful longrange efforts with almost no chance of going in. So this stat is more about quantity and intent than actual danger.

[00:05:03]>> Okay.

[00:05:04]Shots on target are the subset of shots that are actually good enough to either go into the net or force the goalkeeper to make a real save with their hands, feet or body.

[00:05:12]>> Okay. Shots on target attempts that put the opposing under pressure. Get up to a goal. For example, >> hey, these goalkeepers have hops, bro.

[00:05:21]These goalkeepers have hop. What do y'all think they they vertical and stuff is? Not only not only do they have to jump, bro, they have to jump more so to the sides like >> only four on target. It means most of their efforts were off the mark or blocked harmlessly. They're creating chances but not finishing with enough accuracy.

[00:05:40]>> On the flip side, seven shots with six on target shows they're testing the keeper constantly and being clinical.

[00:05:45]This stat is way more telling than just total shots because it separates the real threats from the wasted attempts.

[00:05:52]commentators look at how you share the time a team actually spent with the ball at their feet. And this is that tiki taka which is possessionheavy >> tells you what >> is this the tiki taka possession heavy right here man shout out to pep and u and these Barcelona boys with the tika >> a team actually spent with the ball at their feet it's calculated by adding up all the moments when one team controls the ball including when they're passing it around or holding it up and turning that into a percentage of the whole match. So if a team has 62% possession, they had the ball for more than half the game while the opponent had it for 38%.

[00:06:36]Teams that love to play attractive, patient football, like Manchester City under Pep Guardiola or classic Barcelona sides, often rack up very high possession numbers because they keep the ball to control the tempo and tire out the opposition. Possession isn't everything. A team can have 70% and still lose if they don't possession. A team can have Golly, bro. 11% p uh possession and they scored two goals. Dang. They scored two goals on five attempts, one goal on 23.

[00:07:13]But they I ain't going to lie, they had the ball hell of times though. 89% 90% of the time.

[00:07:18]>> 70% and still lose if they don't create good chances. While a counterattacking [snorts] side like classic Atletico Madrid or Leicester in their title year can win with low possession by being deadly when they do get the ball. Pass completion percent >> pass completion >> percentage measures how accurate a player or the whole team is when they try to pass the ball to a teammate. Take the number of passes that successfully reach their target. Divide by the total passes attempted and multiply by 100 to get the percentage. A high number like 88 to 93% usually means the team is comfortable on the ball. Making safe passes, keeping possession, and building attacks patiently without giving the ball away cheaply.

[00:07:56]>> Keepers and center backs often have very high percentages because they play simple balls to nearby teammates. Lower percentage might come from a team that plays very direct. Speaking of the goalkeepers, he said the goalkeepers, you know, kind of have the ball here and they just boot it over to their team and stuff like that. But sometimes a goalkeeper does have the ball here and instead of just booting it to the sides to their teams to their teammates, they just get it and they just boot it all the way. I'm not sure if they just trying to get the ball as far away from the from the goal as possible, but they just boot it and it just goes all the way back. So, I don't know what that's about, y'all. Maybe maybe it's like I said maybe it's just because they're trying to get the ball away from their net from their goal. So >> is constantly pressed high by the opponent forcing hurried or inaccurate passes. It's a good stat for seeing which teams and players are calm and composed under pressure. Key passes. A key is any pass that directly creates a clear shooting opportunity for a teammate. Even if that shot doesn't end up becoming a goal, okay, it could be a perfectly weighted through ball that puts a striker clean through, a dangerous cross that lands right on a forward's head, or a cut back in the box. The stat doesn't give credit for the assist. That's only if it leads to a goal, but it highlights the players who are constantly unlocking defenses and putting teammates in great positions to score. Okay, so the difference is if you make this pass right here and they score, if you make this pass right here and they score, it's count it counts as an assist. If you make this pass and they don't score, get blocked or something like that, that counts as a key pass. Makes sense.

[00:09:30]>> Wingers and attacking fullbacks tend to lead in key passes because their job is to break lines and supply the front players. If a player has five to eight key passes in a game, they're having a massive influence on the attack, even if the goals aren't flowing yet. Tackles. A tackle is knew about tackles. Why didn't I think of this?

[00:09:47]challenges an opponent who's controlling the ball and wins it back cleanly, usually by getting a foot to the ball first without fouling. Each successful tackle gets counted. So, a high tackle number shows a player is aggressive, strong in one-on-one situations, and excellent at stopping attacks before they >> I'm going to be real. This is a skill, bro. This is this is definitely a skill to to be able to go and and and the first thing that you make contact with is the ball. That is that is skill. Look at these slides. I would literally come And you know, I'm not not a dirty player or nothing like that, but I'm not gonna lie. Uh, let me go to a >> look at this. I'm not gonna lie. If I if I had to do something like this, sorry.

[00:10:28]ACL, MCL, PCL, KFC, all of that. All of that in your all of that in your knee is probably going to be messed up by accident. I didn't mean to, bro. This is literally a skill to be able to time it and get the first thing you make contact with is the ball. That is that is crazy, bro. strong in one-on-one situations and excellent at stopping attacks before they become dangerous. Hardworking defensive midfielders like Casemiro, Declan Rice, or Engolo Kee often top the tackle charts because they're constantly closing down opponents and breaking up play. Tackles are especially valuable in midfield where winning the ball back high up the pitch can lead to quick >> shopping is hard. Make it easy with Stitch Fix. Get outs without any of the hassle >> counterattacks for your own team.

[00:11:13]Interceptions. interceptions when a player reads an opponent's pass.

[00:11:20]>> Okay, little DBaches DB, little safety.

[00:11:26]>> You just anticipate where >> Oh, he just took that. He He just took that straight up. Look at this.

[00:11:32]>> Look at this. Just took it straight up.

[00:11:34]>> Where the ball's going and cut it out.

[00:11:36]This stat rewards intelligent positioning, great reading of the game, and defensive awareness. Players with lots of interceptions are usually very calm and tactically sharp. They're always in the right place to stop danger. Center backs and defensive midfielders rack these up the most. And a high intercept often means a team is hard to play through because opponents can't complete their passes easily.

[00:11:56]Fouls. A foul is action.

[00:12:01]>> Yeah, I have a lot of these.

[00:12:03]>> My boy is literally getting kicked.

[00:12:05]pushing holding an opponent dangerous.

[00:12:08]>> He is literally getting just a a cleat right in his what you call that diaphragm. I don't know. [laughter] But yeah, y'all get what I'm saying.

[00:12:19]>> When not allowed or other rule breaks that stops play and usually gives the other team a free kick, the referee can issue a yellow card as a warning for serious or repeated. If a player gets two yellows or one straight red for something really bad like violent conduct, they're sent off and their team plays with 10 players or fewer for the rest of the match. Too many fouls can be cost.

[00:12:43]You know, they I I definitely heard of that before, but I've never I've never thought about it. Bro, you get a red card. The team plays with just the remainder of the players.

[00:12:59]>> And their team plays with 10 players or fewer for the rest of the match.

[00:13:02]>> 10 players or fewer for the rest of the match. Dang. I a Wow.

[00:13:09]>> Too many fouls can be costly because they give away dangerous setc.

[00:13:19]He broke the glass.

[00:13:22]>> Some teams play very aggressively to disrupt opponents, but if they cross the line too often, it backfires badly.

[00:13:28]>> Put my boy in a choke >> and free kicks are special set piece chances that happen when the ball goes out in certain situations.

[00:13:35]>> Okay, set is awarded when the ball go.

[00:13:39]>> And chat, all for all y'all Arsenal is it Arsenal? Yeah, for all you Arsenal haters saying that uh the corner kicks and all that, they need to stop. They need to ban it and all of that. Stop hating. Them boys is scoring off that off that corner shot. Stop hating, man.

[00:13:57]>> Get better, man.

[00:13:58]>> Giving the attacking team a chance to swing it in from the corner flag. A free kick is given after most fouls, and if it's in a dangerous area close to the box, it can lead to direct shots or clever routines. Teams that win lots of corners and free kicks are usually creating a lot of pressure and getting the ball into wide or advanced areas.

[00:14:16]Many goals in modern football come from set pieces because they're rehearsed moves with players in good positions.

[00:14:22]>> This stat shows which sides are good at forcing these valuable opportunities.

[00:14:26]Expected goals XG.

[00:14:27]>> Okay. Expected goals XGen to XG is a really smart modern stat that tries to show how many goals a team or player should have scored based purely on the quality of the chances they created. Ah, okay. That's nice.

[00:14:40]>> Every single shot gets assigned a number between 0 and one that represents its chance of becoming a goal.

[00:14:45]>> Oh, okay.

[00:14:46]>> A close-range tap in might be 0.8 xG, 80% chance. A penalty around 0.76 xG, while a long range shot from a bad angle might be only 0.03 xG, 3% chance. You add up all the XG from a game shots to get the team's total xG. If a team has 2.8 8 xG but only scores one goal. They were probably unlucky or wasteful with finishing for a whole season. XG is one of the best ways to see if a team is overperforming, scoring way more than expected or underperforming because luck with finishing evens out eventually.

[00:15:18]>> Expected goals against XG is basically the flip side of XG. It measures >> I'm gonna be real. I don't think that I I don't think I need to know about these XGAS and these XGs.

[00:15:34]What y'all think?

[00:15:34]>> Goals your team should have conceded based on the quality of chances the [snorts] opponent created against you.

[00:15:39]Just like with XG, each shot the other team takes gets an XG value and you add them all up to get XGA for the match.

[00:15:46]>> Low XGA, say under 1.0 per game over a season means your defense is excellent at limiting good opportunities. No matter how many goals you actually let in, the chances weren't high quality. If your actual goals conceded are much higher than XGA, it might mean bad luck or poor goalkeeping, lower, maybe some heroic saves or good fortune. This stat helps separate solid defending from fluky results and is super useful for judging how good a backline really is.

[00:16:12]Big chances, >> big chances. I heard about this one.

[00:16:15]>> Clear scoring opportunities that almost everyone watching thinks should end in a goal. like a one-on-one with the goalkeeper, a header from six yards out after a rebound or any chance with very high xG, a header from six yards out, a tap in.

[00:16:29]>> This is one of the main reasons why he has been a crucial player for Pep who >> what they talking about right there.

[00:16:38]>> Usually 0.3 depending on the provider.

[00:16:41]These are the moments that make fans when they're the kind of chances top teams convert most of the time.

[00:16:47]>> Big chances.

[00:16:48]four to five big chances in a game and really testing the opposition defense.

[00:16:53]Missing big chances and drawing or losing because these are the opportunities that turn good performances into actual results on the scoreboard.

[00:17:05]A clean sheet didn't concede a single goal during the entire clean sheets. A clean sheet means the team didn't >> look at him, bro. Like [sighs and gasps] how you how you I don't know if y'all know the story. How do you how do you chat? In my in my other videos, I'm learning about Kevin De Bruyne. How how do you cheat? Not even cheat. How do you try try to do stuff with your homeboy girlfriend, bro? Like that's besides the point, man. I don't even know if I should. Is he good enough for me not to hate him? Because, bro, what he did to Kevin is is is a little bit crazy. Is he good enough for me not to hate him? Let me know.

[00:17:48]>> A single goal during the entire match.

[00:17:49]Their goalkeeper and defenders kept a clean sheet by preventing the opponent from scoring at all. It's one of the proudest achievements for goalkeepers and backlines because it shows perfect defensive work. Organization, great positioning, brave blocks, important saves, and no individual errors. Teams that rack up lots of clean sheets over a season, like 15 to 20 in a league campaign, are usually very tough to beat and often end up challenging for titles or staying up.

[00:18:15]>> What makes sense though? Makes sense.

[00:18:20]>> Oh, that's a big chance. Chat, is this a big chance right here? I'm I'm learning this a big chance he missed.

[00:18:27]Look at this big chance.

[00:18:37]>> Gotcha. Gotcha. Hey, so it's going I'm not going to lie, it's going to take me a little minute to to remember all of these things, bro. Um the stuff that is going to be easier to remember, you know, more so of like goals, assist uh shots, possession, uh pass completion, key pass, tackles, fouls, big chances, set pieces. I think those are the ones I'm going to know like that. But the rest of them I probably I probably have to take a little bit.

[00:19:06]Let's see if I can name these players.

[00:19:07]No, I can't.

[00:19:10]Ronaldo right here. Yeah, this might be Kevin maybe. Um, who else? Who else? Who else? Highland.

[00:19:21]He was in the video. I don't know who this is, though. He was in the video.

[00:19:26]Yeah, that's it. But yeah, I appreciate y'all clicking this video, man. Vibing out. Help me learn more about the sport.

[00:19:32]Help me learn more about the game, man.

[00:19:33]I really appreciate it. Make sure y'all hit that like button. Make sure y'all hit that subscribe button as well. And I'll see y'all next vid.