Inter have the best chance difference in Serie A

9 games into the Serie A season, one side's chance numbers are out on their own. Inter create 2.87 xG a game (league average 1.57) and give up 1.10, a difference of +1.76 a game; the next best is Roma on +0.88. That is the profile of a side controlling games, whatever the results say.

The league picture

xG (expected goals) values each chance by how often shots like it are scored. A team's xG made minus xG conceded a game is one of the steadiest guides to how good it is, because it moves far less with luck than goals do. Inter sit in the "many chances, few against" corner, with Como, Lazio, Milan and others.

How they do it

Inter have lined up in a 3-5-2 in 8 of their 9 Serie A games; this is the eleven that has started there most, with each player's average match rating.

Their pass network from the 2-0 win at Venezia on Wednesday shows where each player took the ball and who found whom. The busiest link was Augusto to Dimarco.

The players who drive it, and the number that matters for this story:

The trend

Over 5 games at a time, Inter's xG difference a game is +1.83 now, up from +1.62 after their first 5; the high was +2.18 (MD 8 v Fiorentina). Roma, the line to compare with, are on −0.13; the league average is 0.00. Over 9 games this is a trend worth watching rather than a verdict.

What to watch

Next for Inter: away to Milan on Saturday (the match page). On xG for a game, Milan are on 1.83 against Inter's 2.87: the two are on the same side of the league average, so the game turns on who does it better.