“The 2020s are proving to be the decade of set pieces. With corner goals back in vogue and rugby-style kick-offs becoming fashionable again, throw-in tactics have been going the same way: longer, and into the box. In the first six matchdays of the 2025-26 season, an average of slightly over one in four throw-ins from the attacking third of the pitch were sent into the penalty area. That frequency is double the proportion of long throws from last season — though this might well prove to be an early-season trend that cools down — and a continuation of a six-year trend. …”
NY Times/The Athletic
Long-throw tactics: How Premier League teams profit from back-post runs and second balls
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“Welcome to the seventh edition of The Alternative Premier League Table, where each Thursday, Anantaajith Raghuraman analyses the entire division through a specific lens. After looking at each club’s usage of long balls last week, this time our qualifier is expected goals and how teams have performed against the metric so far. As usual, the article that follows is long but detailed, so please settle down and enjoy it all — or search for the side you want to read about. …”
“Matchday 2 of the 2025-26 Champions League provided us with the season’s first taste of jeopardy. The 
Scissors Kick 