Six KEY tactical trends of the 2024/25 season so far

Football writer Adrian Clarke looks at six key tactical trends that have emerged across the 2024/25 season so far.

1. Teams getting better on the break

The last two Premier League seasons have arguably been the most attack-minded in the competition’s history, with managers at both ends of the table trying to implement increasingly positive tactics.

A lower degree of caution across the board has left more space open to exploit on counter-attacks. Consequently, we have seen a remarkable rise in the number of shots and goals scored from fast breaks.

With 91 Premier League matches still to play, last season’s totals in both departments have already been surpassed.

There has been 532 shots from fast breaks in 2024/25 so far, six more than the 526 in the whole of last season, while 88 goals have been scored from fast breaks, an increase of seven netted this way from the entire 2023/24 campaign.

PL fast breaks shots and goals season comparison

Who are the strongest sides at this aspect of the game?

Under Arne Slot, Liverpool are head and shoulders the best counter-attacking side in the division, using the pace of Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz to great effect.

Liverpool's total of 56 shots from fast breaks is 14 more than Chelsea, their nearest rival, while Salah's total shots this way of 22 is nearly double the 12 of Wolverhampton Wanderers' Matheus Cunha, who has the second-most.

AFC Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest have plenty of speed in the wide areas too, so it is not surprising they also create the most chances from breakaways, with 37 and 36 respectively.

How teams and players rank for fast breaks

Liverpool lead the way when it comes to scoring from fast breaks too, scoring 13 goals this way, with Salah netting six of them.

2. Errors are proving costly

It has not been a vintage season for Premier League goalkeepers, who have made a combined 36 errors leading to goals.

That has already equalled last season's tally and is significantly in excess of what we witnessed in 2021/22, when only 23 goals were scored this way, although this figure increased in 2022/23, when the number reached 34.

Ipswich Town goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and Chelsea’s Robert Sanchez have made five errors leading to goals each, with Brighton & Hove Albion's stopper Bart Verbruggen just behind them on four.

Individual errors which lead to goals are decided subjectively, but this season has seen a record high of 150 so far without any change in the criteria.

The increase in forced mistakes could be because pressing is such a dominant tactic, but even so, a running total of 150 errors is more than double the total of 77 in 2021/22, and reflects a season-by-season increase since.

Errors leading to goals compared

Chelsea, Aston Villa and Southampton, with 12, 13 and 19 respectively, are the teams who have made the most errors that have led to concessions.

3. Early goals on the rise

Fast starts have been rewarded plenty of times in 2024/25.

We have seen 0.43 goals per game scored inside the first quarter of an hour of matches this season - a noticeable leap from recent seasons where the average plateaued between 0.38 and 0.39.

The overall share of goals scored inside the opening 15 minutes stands at 14.4 per cent so far in 2024/25, a figure that is 2.9 per cent higher than last season (11.5 per cent).

PL goals in the opening 15 minutes compared

Tottenham Hotspur, with 12 goals, and Manchester City, with 10, are the teams who have scored most often in the opening 15 minutes, with Forest and Chelsea just behind on nine.

Brentford, who made a habit of very early goals in the first few months of 2024/25, are next on eight.

Thomas Frank’s Bees have registered a competition-high nine goals with their first shot this season, just ahead of Forest and Wolves, with eight.

This efficiency is not too surprising as statistically Brentford are the most lethal side in the division, converting 14.79 per cent of their chances into goals.

Teams with most goals scored from first shot

While Spurs, Chelsea and Brentford have been fast-starters in front of goal, West Ham United and Man City have proved the most vulnerable to concessions, letting in 10 goals in the first 15 minutes so far this season.

In terms of conceding from the first shot against them, Pep Guardiola’s Man City side are ranked joint-second with Southampton and West Ham, each with seven. Newcastle United lead the way as the team who are punished most often in this manner, conceding a goal on nine occasions from the first shot against them.

Teams with most goals conceded from first shot against

4. Throw-ins become more dangerous

Christian Norgaard’s winning goal in Brentford’s 2-1 success at AFC Bournemouth in Matchweek 29 was the 12th scored from a throw-in this season.

Norgaard's goal v Bournemouth

It is the most we have seen in a Premier League campaign since 13 were scored this way in 2018/19.

Not all these goals stem from long throws, but clubs are increasingly using specialists to launch balls into the opposition box.

In the 10 seasons that preceded 2024/25, the average number of goals per campaign scored from throws was just six.

Brentford are kings of the long throw, scoring four times from those situations this season. Yoane Wissa has been the chief beneficiary, scoring against Everton, Bournemouth and Southampton from throw-ins.

5. Goals down from last season’s record

It was never going to be easy to eclipse 2023/24’s phenomenal total of 1,246 goals, averaging 3.28 per game.

Coaches have reacted by focusing harder on defensive organisation, but this time around we are still averaging 2.99 per match, which remains the second-highest on record.

It does, however, mean if current trends continue we are on course for 110 fewer goals by the end of the season.

Goals in a PL season compared

There are a number of possible reasons why this is.

Firstly, an average of almost two minutes of stoppage time per match has been lost compared to last season.

Average stoppage time compared

The ball has also been in play one minute and five seconds less per match.

Fewer penalties have been awarded, and shot conversion is not quite as impressive as it was last season, but most of the stats are very similar to previous campaigns.

The total of 24 goalless draws is more than the entirety of five of the last six seasons, however last season’s 11 was a record low by a full 10 matches!

6. Fewer passes

A number of the Premier League’s fastest-improving sides, such as Forest, Bournemouth, Crystal Palace and Everton, are not possession-based teams.

While it is common to see sides move the ball around with quality,  there appears to be more focus than ever on making turnovers and counter-attacks pay.

It is a strength many teams share right across the division.

This could partly explain why the average of 899 passes made per game is the lowest for eight seasons.

Passes in a PL season compared

The percentage of longer passes per game has continued its steady decline, dropping to 10.4 per cent from 10.8 per cent last season, some 2.2 per cent lower than the 12.2 per cent average in 2021/22.

A greater number of head coaches seem to be urging their players to move the ball a little quicker through the lines.

Finding penetration, rather than showing patience, is on trend.