Soccer
Beyond xG: The Quiet Rise of Possession Value Models in Football Analytics
Possession value models — what they measure, how they extend xG, where they break, and how to read them in a match report without...
SportsHighLight · Author
Jess Tanaka
Jess Tanaka is the SportsHighLight NBA and WNBA lead. She writes the bulk of basketball coverage on both sides — lineup data, second-spectrum-style tracking interpretation, possession value, shot quality. Wrote the Possession Trap series and most of the WNBA pace pieces; the editor most likely to push back on a hot take with a chart.
Soccer
The Leicester Problem: Expected Goals, Honestly Explained
Expected goals (xG) in soccer, written by someone who is tired of seeing the metric weaponised. What the model measures, where it breaks, and...
Soccer
Set-Piece Analytics: Why Corners and Free Kicks Are More Underrated Than You Think
Set-piece analytics — what they measure, why they matter so much more than mainstream coverage suggests, where they break, and how to read them...
Soccer
La Liga Title Race Through xG: Reading the Final Stretch
By late April, La Liga’s title race has either tightened or settled. The points table records the answer. The xG…
Soccer
Goalkeeping Beyond Saves: Expected Goals on Target, Explained
Goalkeeping beyond saves — what post-shot xG actually measures, how the modern goalkeeping toolkit works, where the math breaks, and how to read a...
Soccer
Pressing Data Without the Costume: PPDA, Territory and the Limits of Public Models
A pundit on a Saturday afternoon broadcast describes the away team’s pressing as “intense” based on what looks like a…
Soccer
Bayer Leverkusen’s Unbeaten Season: Bayesian Skepticism in Football
Bayesian skepticism in football — what it means, how it applies to extraordinary seasons like Leverkusen's unbeaten run, where the framework breaks, and how...
Soccer
Reading the Champions League Knockout Stage Through Expected Goals
The Champions League knockout stage produces a familiar viewing trap. A team wins the first leg 2-0 away from home.…
Soccer
How to Read the January Transfer Window Through Analytics
The January transfer window is the messiest moment in soccer’s analytical calendar. Clubs scramble to fix mid-season problems. Selling sides…
Soccer
Champions League Matchday 3: The xG Story Arsenal Was Hiding
Arsenal 4-0 Atletico looked like vintage demolition. The xG numbers were 3.8 to 0.6 and pointed at something the league phase would confirm.