Model-Based Clustering of Football Event Sequences: A Marked Spatio-Temporal Point Process Mixture Approach

TL;DR

This paper introduces a mixture model for clustering football possessions based on their spatio-temporal event sequences, capturing complex dynamics and aiding tactical analysis.

Contribution

It presents a novel mixture model that clusters entire football possessions using marked spatio-temporal point processes, a significant advancement over previous event-focused methods.

Findings

Uncovered distinct defensive possession patterns in Ligue 1 data.

Enabled principled clustering of full possessions for tactical insights.

Provided interpretable indicators of possession characteristics.

Abstract

We propose a novel mixture model for football event data that clusters entire possessions to reveal their temporal, sequential, and spatial structure. Each mixture component models possessions as marked spatio-temporal point processes: event types follow a finite Markov chain with an absorbing state for ball loss, event times follow a conditional Gamma process to account for dispersion, and spatial locations evolve via truncated Brownian motion. To aid interpretation, we derive summary indicators from model parameters capturing possession speed, number of events, and spatial dynamics. Parameters are estimated through maximum likelihood via Generalized Expectation-Maximization algorithm. Applied to StatsBomb data from 38 Ligue 1 matches (2020/2021), our approach uncovers distinct defensive possession patterns faced by Stade Rennais. Unlike previous approaches focusing on individual events, our mixture structure enables principled clustering of full possessions, supporting tactical analysis and the future development of realistic virtual training environments.