xG Chain
Expected goals chain credits a player with the value of every possession in which he touched the ball, without excluding the shot or the final pass that other buildup metrics remove.
What it means
It is a measure of involvement in high-value possessions, and its difference from buildup credit is exactly the shooter's and assister's own contributions.
Why it matters
It gives the widest possible measure of attacking involvement, which is useful for identifying players whose contribution would otherwise be invisible.
Where it is used
Player profiling where the question is participation rather than quality, and the assessment of defenders and midfielders in possession-heavy sides.
Where it misleads
Because the shooter and the final passer are included, the metric heavily rewards players who take and create shots. It therefore correlates with attacking output and should not be read as a separate skill.
Key points
- The shooter and the assisting passer are included, unlike buildup credit.
- It correlates strongly with attacking output by construction.
- Sequence boundaries are arbitrary and must be stated.
- Use it for identification, not for quality assessment.
- Report it beside the buildup variant to isolate contribution.
- It is a volume measure, so the rate per ninety matters.
Report the definition, the sample and the date beside the figure, and the figure will survive being quoted by somebody else.