Modern live score pages show a battery of statistics that can confuse even regular viewers. Possession, expected goals, shots, field tilt and pass accuracy each describe a different part of the game, and none of them alone tells you who is winning or who deserves to win. Used together, they give a much clearer picture of how a match is unfolding.

Possession measures the share of time a team has the ball, but it does not measure what the team does with it. A team can enjoy 65 percent possession by passing sideways in its own half while the opponent defends compactly and waits for a counter-attack. Another team can have 35 percent possession and create the better chances by attacking quickly and directly.

That is why possession should be read with territory in mind. A team with high possession in the opponent's half is genuinely pressing the game. A team with high possession in its own half may simply be unable to progress the ball. Many live score apps now show possession by third of the pitch, which is far more informative than a single percentage.

Expected goals, usually written as xG, estimates the probability that a shot becomes a goal, based on factors such as distance, angle, the type of assist and whether the shot was taken under defensive pressure. A penalty has a high xG value because penalties are scored often. A long-range shot through a crowd of defenders has a low xG value because such shots rarely go in.

Adding up the xG of every shot gives a team's total for the match, which can be compared with the actual score. If a team has far more xG than goals, it has created good chances and failed to convert them, or faced excellent goalkeeping. If it has more goals than xG, it has finished clinically or benefited from unusual goals. Over a single match, xG is a guide to chance quality, not a verdict on who deserved to win.

Shots are usually split into total shots, shots on target and shots inside the penalty area. Shots inside the box are generally more dangerous than shots from distance, so a team with fewer total shots but more shots inside the box may be the more threatening side. Shots on target matter because a shot that misses the target cannot score, however well worked the move was.

Field tilt is a newer statistic that measures the share of possession and touches in the attacking third, showing where the game is being played. A team with a high field tilt is camped in the opponent's half, even if its overall possession is modest. Combined with xG, field tilt helps explain whether a team is genuinely pinning its opponent back or simply enjoying sterile possession.

Read the stats as a story, not as a league table. Start with the score, then check xG to see who created the better chances, then check field tilt and possession to see where the game is being played, and finally check shots inside the box to see who is getting into dangerous areas. If all four point the same way, the match picture is clear. If they disagree, the game is probably more open and finely balanced than the score suggests.

Remember that statistics describe a match; they do not decide it. Soccer's low scores mean a single moment of quality, a defensive mistake or a goalkeeping error can outweigh an hour of statistical dominance. The numbers help you understand what happened and what might happen next, but the game itself is always decided on the pitch.