Rule change for next season....that's us that is

goal-kick is in play from the moment the ball is kicked

Possibly the most interesting rule change of all. Until now, a goal-kick had to leave the area before being in play. That didn’t used to be an issue; goalkeepers almost always kicked the ball long into midfield where an aerial duel would take place near the halfway line.

But the rise in passing out of defence, and the subsequent rise of intense pressing high up the pitch to counteract it, has led to false breaks in play. When a goalkeeper passes out to a defender from a goal-kick and that defender has an opponent pressing them, they could deliberately intercept the ball in the penalty area and effectively buy a restart from the referee.

That is no longer the case. Goalkeepers will be able to pass to team-mates within the penalty area, thus allowing for a far speedier process of passing out of defence in order to combat the high press. You can easily imagine Ederson running with the ball into the six-yard box to play a quick pass to Aymeric Laporte and get the ball into midfield before the opposition has had chance to regroup. One of the slowest elements of modern football is about to get a recharge.

Posted By: BSE Canary, May 23, 12:19:33