Autumn of 2017 marked the emergence of goal kicks as a potent attacking strategy. Ederson’s lethal left leg at Manchester City unleashed goal kicks that traveled 80 yards, setting up goals with ease.
Teams were left bewildered by this new approach, with City’s front three positioning themselves strategically beyond the opposition’s back line to capitalize on goal kicks.
Goal kicks became the third-most-common set piece in a Premier League match, revolutionizing the way teams viewed this once-overlooked aspect of the game.
This set-up from a City goal kick is great. Players stretched out all over the place, the opposition have no idea whether the pass is going to go short, into the big hole in the middle, or straight up top. Ederson really has changed the game. pic.twitter.com/hhzQBJuJP1
— Sam Lee (@SamLee) April 28, 2019
Previously, goal kicks were merely a formality, but post-2017, teams began to strategize and map out their set-piece routines, leveraging the newfound attacking potential of goal kicks.
In 2019, IFAB changed goal kick rules, allowing the first pass to be received inside the penalty area. This transformative rule altered the dynamics of the game, encouraging short goal kicks over the traditional long-range approach.
These changes spurred a deluge of creative strategies, as teams sought to manipulate goal kicks to their advantage in the evolving landscape of modern football.
For decade after decade, goal kicks were invariably hit long and with little strategic thought (Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty)