Long Games, Less Action: How Much Is The Ball In Play In The Premier League?

The commencement of each shot lucifer brings a small flutter successful nan stomach. Will nan stars perform? Will nan referee person a bully crippled by giving your players each decision? And will nan shot gods radiance down connected your team? A much pertinent mobility to inquire this season, though, is really overmuch shot will we really see?

We wrote astir ball-in-play clip a fewer seasons ago, revealing that fans were not seeing arsenic overmuch shot arsenic successful erstwhile years. We’re not saying our information nosiness led to referees adding much stoppage time, but location was a notable emergence successful ball-in-play clip complete nan adjacent 2 campaigns. It went up from 54 minutes and 49 seconds successful 2022-23 to 58 minutes and 11 seconds successful 2023-24. It’s still early successful nan 2025-26 season, but nan pendulum whitethorn beryllium swinging backmost nan different way.

How overmuch is nan shot successful play successful 2025-26?

We person seen an mean ball-in-play clip of conscionable 55 minutes per crippled this play – down from 56 minutes and 59 seconds past season. Stoppage clip has crept up – games past 100 minutes and 35 seconds connected mean this season, which is 51 seconds longer than past play – but nan shot is successful play for almost 2 minutes fewer. Fans are spending 2 minutes and 50 seconds longer than past play waiting for restarts, astir nan clip it takes to perceive to You’re nan One That I Want by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John.

There are 45 minutes and 35 seconds of delays/pauses per crippled this play – aliases astir 1 section of Countdown. We could beryllium struggling to lick a conundrum alternatively than watching personification saunter complete slow to return a corner. For clarity, a “delay” is nan clip betwixt nan shot going retired and play resuming for corners, free-kicks, throw-ins, goal-kicks, kick-offs, penalties and driblet balls. The shot has been successful play for conscionable 54.7% of nan clip this season; nan lowest it’s been complete nan past 10 afloat seasons is 55.7%, which was successful 2022-23.

So, which teams are giving america nan astir action? Despite being precocious promoted and considered underdogs successful astir of their games, Leeds are averaging nan longest ball-in-play clip successful nan convention this play astatine 56 minutes and 48 seconds (57.5% of full minutes). It either intends Daniel Farke is happy for his broadside to get connected pinch it, aliases their opponents are doing their utmost to support nan shot successful play.

Newcastle games person nan lowest proportionality of ball-in-play action astatine 52.3% (53 minutes and 9 seconds connected average), intimately followed by Chelsea (52.6%) and Manchester United (52.7%). One lucifer successful peculiar has dragged Newcastle’s numbers down.

The longest shortest game

Newcastle’s five-goal thriller against Liverpool has nan lowest ball-in-play clip this season, which is rather thing erstwhile you see it lasted 109 minutes and 24 seconds – nan 3rd longest lucifer of nan play truthful far.

There were 31 fouls, nan joint-second astir successful a Premier League lucifer this term, which created delays of 27 minutes and 7 seconds. Newcastle averaged 67 seconds per free-kick, astatine slightest 10 seconds longer than immoderate different squad has averaged successful a game.

There was 13 minutes and 43 seconds of stoppage clip successful nan 2nd half, nan astir successful a Premier League lucifer this season. Despite nan added time, nan shot was successful play for conscionable 45 minutes and 55 seconds (42%). So, for 63 minutes and 29 seconds of that game, thing was happening. It’s astonishing to deliberation location were 5 goals, including Rio Ngumoha’s precocious victor for Liverpool.

Not acold down was Brighton’s 3-1 triumph astatine Chelsea, erstwhile nan shot was successful play for conscionable 46 minutes and 44 seconds of nan full clip of 105 minutes and 14 seconds (44.4%). At nan different extremity of nan value-for-money scale, nan shot was successful play for 63.4% of Leeds’ 3-1 triumph astatine Wolves.

Who are nan slowest astatine set-pieces?

Sunderland are spending nan astir clip complete each corner, pinch almost 50 seconds per corner. Arsenal, who topped this database past play and are 2nd this term, person won much corners than immoderate different squad this play (53) truthful are comfortably up erstwhile it comes to full clip to return them. Mikel Arteta’s squad person spent 40 minutes and six seconds taking corners this play – astatine slightest 11 minutes and 12 seconds much than immoderate different team.

All 3 goals successful their caller crippled against Newcastle were scored from corners, which wasn’t that astonishing considering 19 corners were awarded successful nan game. In total, 12 minutes and 14 seconds of that crippled was taken up by delays for taking corners, nan astir successful a lucifer this season.

Wolves are nan quickest to return their corners, intimately followed by Manchester City, who some mean little than 30 seconds. There is not immoderate clear relationship betwixt clip taken complete corners and their effectiveness. Arsenal return nan 2nd longest clip and person scored nan astir goals from corners this play (six), but Chelsea person scored nan 2nd astir (five) contempt taking nan 3rd shortest time. Sunderland and Wolves, who are astatine either extremity of nan spectrum, person scored 1 each. Manchester City (29.1 seconds) are yet to people from a corner, but truthful are Liverpool (40.6 seconds).

Compared to past season, teams are mostly spending much clip taking corners, goal-kicks and throw-ins. Given the number of agelong throws we’re seeing, that is nary surprise, pinch throw-ins taking an mean of 17.7 seconds this play compared to 15.6 seconds past term.

Goal-kicks are besides taking 2 seconds longer (30.3 seconds, up from 28.3 seconds), but corners person seen nan astir noticeable jump, up to 36.9 seconds from 33.6 seconds. With each area taking 3.3 seconds longer connected average, if we extremity up seeing nan aforesaid number arsenic past play (3,890), we will person spent much than 3 and a half hours other waiting for them crossed nan campaign.

Brentford are taking almost 4 seconds longer than immoderate different squad connected throw-ins. This is mostly because truthful galore of them are agelong – nan Bees person taken 34 agelong throws into nan opposition’s box, much than immoderate different squad – truthful they mostly return much clip to statement everything up. Wolves are taking almost half nan clip connected average, conscionable 12.7 seconds per throw-in, nan quickest successful nan division.

Sunderland are taking nan longest complete goal-kicks (36.7 seconds) and Nottingham Forest are nan quickest. They person needed conscionable 26.2 seconds per goal-kick, a steep diminution from past play erstwhile their mean of 34.1 seconds was nan longest successful nan division.

Free-kicks tin beryllium tricky to read, arsenic they dangle connected wherever they are won. Deep wrong your ain half and chances are you’ll return it quickly, but wrong 10-20 yards of nan opposition’s container and you’re acold much apt to return your clip lining up a transverse aliases shot. For what it’s worth, Crystal Palace (41.6 seconds) and Brentford (41.0 seconds) walk nan longest mean clip taking free-kicks, while Fulham (25.8 seconds), Brighton (26.8 seconds) and Liverpool (26.9 seconds) return them quickest.

Not truthful engaged Bees

Taking each delays into account, Brentford are spending nan astir clip getting nan shot backmost into play, taking 33.5 seconds connected mean to do so. They are intimately followed by promoted brace Burnley (32.7 seconds) and Sunderland (32.3 seconds), but besides not acold down are Arsenal and Manchester United (both 31 seconds).

Wolves are nan fastest astatine getting nan crippled going again (24.1 seconds). Given that they are bottommost of nan Premier League pinch conscionable 2 points aft 7 games, possibly they should see slowing down a bit. Manchester City (25.6 seconds), Nottingham Forest (26.4 seconds) and Liverpool (26.8 seconds) are besides eager to get nan shot backmost successful play. Again, that is simply a large alteration from Forest, who were nan slowest successful nan convention past play astatine restarting play (32.2 seconds).

So, location you person it. We are getting immoderate of nan longest shot matches we person ever seen successful nan Premier League, but we’re not seeing much football, unless you bask nan show of a subordinate pinch nan shot nether his limb waiting for teammates to flood nan box. We’re not present to judge.

This is an article by Opta Analyst