Oliver Glasner gave his thoughts about the interest in long throw-ins in the Premier League.
‘Antiquated’ tactics are business. A record 19% of all Premier League goals this season have been scored from corners (45 of 241), the highest share in the history of the division.
Sixty-seven goals have been scored from set-pieces (excluding penalties) at a share of 27.8% - the second highest seen in the Premier League. That proportion marks a major increase on any season over the past decade.
Indeed, Palace conceded a goal from the second phase of a free kick against **Arsenal**in a 1-0 loss to the table toppers at the Emirates Stadium on the weekend as Eberechi Eze volleyed home a flick on from Gabriel Magalhaes.
Some might see this growing proficiency from dead ball situations as a reflection of the decreasing creativity in the sport at the elite level and reliance on repeatable routines in all phases of the game. But all goals are worth the same no matter how they go in, and Glasner appreciated the significance of being able to score from this phase of play as something that the Eagles could soon learn from.
“It’s football – and like life itself, football never stops. You always need to progress and you have to look at where you can develop.
“Sometimes you could see [in recent years] the game getting quicker and quicker, with the players getting more and more athletic. Then sometimes the game moves a little bit back to its roots.
“And I have to blame myself that we didn’t consider using it even more in the last couple of years, because it’s a great opportunity to get the ball into the box. And everybody knows that 90% of goals are scored in this area.
“And there is no offside. You can have quite a few numbers in there, so it’s just logical that you would try and get the ball into these areas.”