Analysis The numbers behind the result
Clinical Palace edge chaotic Besiktas in open contest
The 2-2 draw was a fair reflection of an end-to-end encounter, though Crystal Palace slightly outperformed their 0.42 xG with two goals, compared to Besiktas's two goals from 0.71 xG. Despite having just 41% possession, Palace created more dangerous chances, evidenced by their six shots inside the box to Besiktas's three. Yeremy Pino (51') and Jean-Philippe Mateta (55') made the most of their opportunities, cancelling out Wilfred Ndidi's opener (45+2') before Junior Olaitan's equaliser (73').
Besiktas dominated possession (59%) and completed more passes (516 to 355), but struggled to convert their control into clear-cut chances. Their discipline also let them down, with Umit Akdag's red card (77') hampering their late push for a winner. Palace, meanwhile, were more clinical, with both their goals coming from central areas inside the box. Mateta's disallowed goal (6') underlined their early threat, and though they had fewer shots overall (8 to 5), their higher xG per shot (0.14 to 0.053) showed sharper execution.
The decisive stat was Besiktas's inability to make their dominance count: despite 59% possession, they managed just two shots on target, the same as Palace managed with far less of the ball.