Last season, only 11.5% of goals scored in the Premier League came from outside the penalty area, the lowest figure Opta has recorded since the Premiership broke away from the Football League in 1992. That’s not a one-off: there have been fluctuations but the general trend over the past two decades has been a decline in the proportion of goals scored from long range. Which raises the obvious question of why? Is this the most clearcut evidence of the impact of data on football?
Its exact impact on how football is actually played at the highest level is difficult to measure, not least because clubs are so keen to obfuscate any advantage they do derive from analysis to preserve their competitive advantage.
