Dynamo Dresden contra Darmstadt — 2. Bundesliga

**Dynamo Dresden 1-0 Darmstadt**

**What set this match apart:** This match was more unusual than 88% of matches, with the majority of that unusualness residing in the build-up. Both teams were highly active in their own halves, completing 558 passes in total (89th percentile of joint volume), but Dynamo Dresden was far more active there with 414 passes compared to Darmstadt's 144 (100th percentile of gaps). Conversely, the teams were almost perfectly balanced in the opponent's half, combining for 417 passes (98th percentile of joint volume) with no real difference between them.

**How it played out:** Dynamo Dresden was clearly ahead in terms of direct threat, recording 6 shots on target to Darmstadt's 1, despite a low joint volume of only 7 shots on target in the match (17th percentile). Darmstadt attempted to bypass the midfield and use the flanks, recording 24 accurate long balls to Dynamo Dresden's 17 (76th percentile of gaps) and 7 accurate crosses to just 1 (94th percentile of gaps), even though both metrics were low in the match overall. The game saw a high volume of corners (12 in total, 86th percentile of joint volume), with Dynamo Dresden making 7 to Darmstadt's 5. Darmstadt was more active in winning the ball back, recording 16 tackles to Dynamo Dresden's 7 (90th percentile of gaps) and 16 interceptions to 9 (89th percentile of gaps). While ground duels were rare (50 in total, 5th percentile of joint volume), Darmstadt was clearly ahead with 30 to Dynamo Dresden's 20 (87th percentile of gaps). Dribbling was almost non-existent for both sides, with only 4 successful dribbles recorded in the entire match (5th percentile of joint volume).

**Verdict:** The fair probabilities are Dynamo Dresden win 51%, draw 29%, and Darmstadt win 20%. The performances pointed to a Dynamo Dresden win and that is what happened. With Dynamo Dresden recording 6 shots on target to Darmstadt's 1, the result was deserved.