How Useful Is xG for Understanding a Football Match?

[AlmaMatter]

Expected goals has become one of the most discussed football statistics, but it can sometimes seem disconnected from the final score. Do you find xG genuinely useful for understanding which team performed better, or do people rely on it too much?

[Nefetiti]

I know this thread is a bit old, but I wanted to chime in. xG can be helpful, but it depends on context. A team might have high xG from long shots but lose 1-0. Do you think xG misses important things like defensive pressure or match state?

[GrahamWillis]

xG helps cut through scoreline noise, but I prefer pairing it with actual match context to avoid overreliance
Personally, I use the live stats and shot maps at https://rubiscore.com/ to cross-check xG against real-time events, which has made my match analysis feel more balanced and grounded