The introduction of football’s new goal kick rule has seen a significant increase in the proportion of goal kicks taken short across the Top Five European leagues this season.
According to Opta data, the number of goal kicks in the Premier League ending within 40 metres of a team’s own goal increased from 28% in 2018/19 to 40% so far in 2019/20. Brighton’s total, following the appointment of Graham Potter as manager, has jumped from 6% to over 75%.
At the 2020 OptaPro Forum, data analyst Tom Worville delivered a presentation looking at the impact of the rule change on team strategies across the leading European leagues. His analysis focused primarily on a team’s possession retention, ball progression up-field and the creation of goalscoring opportunities.
Watch the presentation in full below.
