Every article is built from real work: data pulls, models, mistakes included. Read, rerun, adapt.
xG is the most quoted number in football analytics — and the most misunderstood. Here is what the model actually measures, where it breaks, and how to use it responsibly.
Open data is the fastest way to start. This walkthrough goes from raw JSON events to a shot map in a handful of steps — the same pipeline pattern you will reuse with every public dataset.
You do not need a paid provider to start learning football analytics. These five free sources cover events, results, xG, odds and historical tables — with honest notes on the trade-offs of each.