Playing tactics, contextual variables and offensive effectiveness in English Premier League soccer matches. A multilevel analysis

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the combined effects of tactical and contextual indicators on achieving offensive penetration and scoring opportunities in English Premier League (EPL) soccer matches. A total of 1971 team possessions from 20 random matches were evaluated by means of multidimensional observation. The EPL matches had a great proportion of fast attacks (36.0%) followed by combinative (29.6%), direct attacks (24.1%) and counterattacks (9.5%). Multilevel logistic regression models revealed that counterattacks (OR = 3.428; 95% CI: 2.004-5.864; P<0.001) were more effective to create goal scoring opportunities than combinative attacks, while direct attacks showed to be less effective (OR = 0.472; 95% CI: 0.264-0.845; P<0.05). Playing at home increased the probability (OR = 1.530; 95% CI: 1.097-2.135; P<0.05) of creating goal scoring opportunities compared with playing away. These findings show the multifactorial character of soccer and how different contextual and tactical indicators can influence the creation of offensive penetration and goal scoring opportunities in the English Premier League.

Analysis of goal scoring opportunities in elite male ice hockey in relation to tactical and contextual variables

“…Although there is no commonly used definition of GSO, it is usually applied to address conditions with high expected probability to result in a goal, which are normally situations where shots is released from the slot area (deemed zone 1 and 2 in this study). In comparable sports such as soccer, GSO is a commonly applied term and has been a focus in several studies (González-Rodenas et al, 2020;Wright et al, 2011). Comparable to our study, González-Rodenas et al (2020) defined GSO in a soccer game as all shots and chances to shoot inside a specific area close to the goal, while (Wright et al, 2011) in contrast deemed a GSO as a general term for all shots.…”

“…In comparable sports such as soccer, GSO is a commonly applied term and has been a focus in several studies (González-Rodenas et al, 2020;Wright et al, 2011). Comparable to our study, González-Rodenas et al (2020) defined GSO in a soccer game as all shots and chances to shoot inside a specific area close to the goal, while (Wright et al, 2011) in contrast deemed a GSO as a general term for all shots. In our study, 13.2% of the GSO were converted into goal, which is a similar goal scoring ratio (15.2%) that was found in soccer when analysing all shots in a game (Gonzalez-Rodenas et al, 2020).…”

“…The importance of multiple approach can be exemplified by the analysis of release time of shot, which attained significance association (p < .05) in univariate, but not in the multivariate. In similar studies, it's usually occurred that significant results in univariate changes to non-significant in multivariate analysis (González-Rodenas et al, 2020;Tenga, Holme et al, 2010). Therefore, it is crucial to use the multivariate approach when investigating several dimensions of tactical and contextual dimensions of goal scoring.…”

Effects of match contextual factors on internal and external load in elite Brazilian professional soccer players through the season

“…In summary, this means that the relations between these variables are non-existent or non-linear. Differences in the effectiveness of attacking styles have been reported in the literature 51 , which could lead to different behavioral patterns (and, hence, differences in physical parameters). However, in the current study, we analyzed the association between the frequency of different attacking styles and the physical parameters.…”

Greater numbers of passes and shorter possession durations result in increased likelihood of goals in 2010 to 2018 World Cup Champions

“…Further potentially influencing the balance of a defense is the amount of time that a possession takes to move the ball from defensive zone to the offensive or scoring area. Gonzalez-Rodenas et al, found that, in the English premier league, possessions longer than 10 seconds resulted in a higher likelihood of offensive penetration but not in creating greater scoring chances [13]. This finding was in contradiction of findings in other leagues [7,8,14] where longer possessions were more effective.…”