“Shooooooooooooooot!”
It’s the roared demand you’ll hear from football supporters at stadiums across the world.
Despite the evolution of the game, which has meant that players are taking fewer shots from outside the penalty area in open play, the thirst for long-range efforts will always exist.
The spectacle of an outrageous strike from outside the box curling and/or dipping into the top corner will always be loved because it is one of the purest forms of entertainment. Some fans, after feasting on goal compilations from past seasons, might fear that the trend of shooting closer to goal — partly inspired by better qualitative data, including expected goals — is on the way out.
Yes, there are valid arguments for creating higher-quality goalscoring chances in open play, but corner situations are a scenario where taking low-probability shots still make sense.
The different nature of set pieces makes it ‘a game within the game‘, which means that opponent’s positioning can be manipulated to create advantageous shooting chances by using players on the edge of the box.
The role of the attacking team’s players near the edge of the penalty box is primarily defensive, protecting against counter-attacks, but they are also a massive threat on the second phase of corner kicks.
“I am a big believer (of players) on the edge (of the box) — how we can keep the pressure (for the) second phase,” said Brentford’s head coach, Thomas Frank, on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football last year. “It’s very important to keep the pressure up there and make sure you can put the ball back in the box again.”
Since the beginning of the 2020-21 Premier League season, 25.7 per cent of goals from corners have been scored in the second phase after the initial corner was cleared or overhit. These goals often come in the form of crosses or passes back into the penalty area, or shots from outside the box.
In that time, direct shots make up 42 per cent of the goals scored in the second phase of a corner.
The presence of two or three players near the edge of the penalty area means that they can pounce quickly and get to a loose ball before the opponent reacts.
Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold has previously told The Athletic that shooting on the second phase of corners is something Liverpool had developed under Jurgen Klopp.
“That is something we have worked on this season (2021-22) to make sure, when balls drop out, they are hit straight back in there or we are getting shots off,” said the England right-back.
Additionally, it’s an approach that Everton focused on last season, which helped them rack up the best goals-per-100-set-pieces rate in the Premier League and, more importantly, avoid relegation — five out of Everton’s 12 corner goals in the Premier League in 2023-24 came from shooting on the second phase of corners.
On corner kicks, most defensive teams use a mix of zonal and man-marking against an average of six attackers inside the penalty area. Attacking players on the edge of the box aren’t marked because they are less threatening, and it’s illogical to defend the penalty area in a six-versus-six man-marking approach that could be easily manipulated.
If the ball is played into the penalty box and cleared towards one of the attacking players on the edge of the penalty area, then the defensive players should react quickly. However, the first thought is to defend the cross itself, which distances the defensive players from the attacking players near the edge of the box.
In this example, from Liverpool’s 3-0 victory against Aston Villa last season, Alexander-Arnold’s outswinging cross towards the near post doesn’t connect with anyone…
… and because of its trajectory, most of the defenders move towards the near post, meaning that Dominik Szoboszlai has enough time and space to shoot from the edge of the penalty area on the second phase of the corner.
Also, in the second phase, the defensive players are mainly focused on adjusting their positions to protect the now far post, which means that fewer players will be moving up to block the shot.
The drawback of shooting into a crowded area is that the shot can be easily blocked, but on the other hand it could be deflected into the back of the net. Furthermore, the multiple players in front of the goalkeeper limit his visibility and might force him to react more slowly.
Last Saturday, Marcus Rashford scored on the second phase of a corner in Manchester United’s 3-0 victory against Southampton. Here, the lack of pressure on Rashford when Amad collects the overhit cross allows the England forward time to receive the ball comfortably and create a shooting angle.
Meanwhile, Aaron Ramsdale’s view is affected because of the number of players between him and the ball. Southampton’s goalkeeper can’t see the trajectory of the ball clearly because of Matthijs de Ligt, which delays his reaction and makes it harder for him to save the shot.
Contrary to the corner kick itself, the second phase is random and unpredictable — the ball can fall anywhere after it’s cleared or overhit — but shooting in these situations has proven to be successful in the last four years in the Premier League.
So, if you enjoy long-range goals, be assured, there will always be a case for them on the second phase of corners.
