than 比较状语从句

than 比较状语从句
书上的一句话：
...but on balance things have gone much better than we had any right to expect.
后面的比较状语从句：than we had any right to expect
expect之后是不是省略了things（与主句的things作比较）?
这有点像定语从句少了宾语.而其他的状语从句,比如时间状语从句,都没有缺少过宾语.
是不是加个those,变成定语从句,会通顺一些：
...but on balance things have gone much better than those we had any right to expect.
希望得到详细的语法分析,