Alavés 3–0 Getafe: seventy-two minutes of nothing, then a substitute with a goal and two assists

The plan

Alavés and Getafe both started 3-5-2, which usually produces a match of wing-back against wing-back and not much else. For forty-two minutes it did. Then Kiko Femenía, Getafe’s right wing-back, was sent off, and the game became one side attacking a 5-3-1 that had no intention of leaving its box.

Alavés had 52 percent possession, 18 shots, 11 from inside the area, and 1.93 expected goals. Getafe managed six shots and 0.24 xG in the whole match. The scoreboard stayed 0–0 until the 73rd minute, which is the part worth explaining.

Key moment · 73’

The change that broke it came at 57’: Mariano Díaz and Mikel Rodríguez on for Mañas and Denis Suárez. Sixteen minutes later Díaz assisted Nahuel Tenaglia, the right wing-back, for the opener. A wing-back scoring against a 3-5-2 that had lost its own wing-back is the shape of the match in one line.

Ten men in a low block are beaten by patience and by fresh legs. Alavés had both, and the fresh legs did the rest.— TacticFrame editorial

Key moment · 90+

Díaz scored the second in stoppage time, then assisted Rodríguez for the third seconds later. His record for the half he played: one goal, two assists, two key passes, and the highest rating in the match at 9.3. Rodríguez, the other 57’ substitute, scored the third with the second-highest rating among the substitutes.

Verdict

• The red card at 42’ decided the shape; the substitutions at 57’ decided the score. Both goalscorers and the assist provider came on together.
• 18 shots and 1.93 xG for 0–0 at 72’ is what ten men in a 5-3-1 buy. Three goals in eighteen minutes is what they cost when the block tires.
• Getafe’s 0.24 xG is as low as a full-length record gets. After the red card they did not attack; they waited, and the wait ran out.