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Belfast Live
Belfast Live
Sport
Gareth Fullerton

Linfield 0 Floriana 1: Stats prove grim reading for Blues following Europa League exit

Lies, damned lies and statistics.

Sometimes it is the numbers and percentages that can leave a bitter taste after losing a game.

Linfield boss David Healy will be digesting Thursday night's shock Europa League defeat to Floriana, and probably wondering how the Maltese visitors escaped from Windsor Park with their win.

But goals win matches, and Vincenzo Potenza's side bagged the only one of the game as Floriana progressed in the competition to tee up a third qualifying round tie with Flora Tallinn.

For Healy and his players, there will no doubt be a post-mortem on how they managed to lose Thursday night's game.

The stats offer grim reading for the Irish League champions.

Floriana had just one shot on target, Matias Garcia's ninth-minute effort which took a slight deflection before nestling in the bottom corner of Chris Johns' net.

A snapshot of UEFA's official stats from the game (Uefa.com)

That was their only attempt on target all night, according to Uefa's stats from the game.

Out of their six other attempts, four were off target and two were blocked.

The stats show Johns didn't make one save all night.

Linfield had a total of 13 goal attempts with just four on target - six were off target and three blocked.

They also had seven corners compared to Floriana's three.

The Blues had defender Ross Larkin sent off for two bookings in the second half, but they should have possessed enough firepower to salvage something from the game.

Navid Nasseri was denied in the opening half, while Ethan Boyle also squandered a decent heading opportunity.

Shayne Lavery and Stephen Fallon were denied by Floriana goalkeeper Atkpan shortly after the break, before Bastien Hery blazed over.

Jimmy Callacher's late header was brilliantly saved by Atkpan late on, and then substitute Christy Manzinga fired acrobatically over.

It was one of those games for Linfield, a night when one shot on target knocked them out of Europe.

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