Sports glossary: the numbers, explained
Following sport in a spreadsheet means reading a lot of columns. Here's what the common ones mean — handy whether you're new to the sport or just want the table to make sense at a glance.
- How to read a league table
- Teams are ranked by points (Pts): typically 3 for a win, 1 for a draw, 0 for a loss. The columns show games played (P), wins/draws/losses (W/D/L), goals for and against (GF/GA) and goal difference (GD). Ties on points are usually broken by goal difference.
- What is xG (expected goals)?
- Expected goals (xG) rates the quality of each chance from 0 to 1 — the probability an average player would score it. A team's xG adds those up, estimating how many goals the chances created should have produced, regardless of the actual score.
- What is goal difference (GD)?
- Goal difference is goals scored minus goals conceded. It's the most common tie-breaker when teams are level on points: a bigger goal difference ranks higher.
- What is net run rate (NRR)?
- Net run rate is cricket's main tie-breaker in league tables: a team's runs scored per over minus the runs it concedes per over. A higher net run rate ranks higher when points are equal.
- What is a clean sheet?
- A clean sheet is when a team concedes no goals in a match — a common measure of defensive and goalkeeping performance.
- What do FT, HT and AET mean?
- FT is full time (the match has finished), HT is half time, and AET means after extra time. In the grid these appear as the match status.