Recently, English football fans have been on the edge of their seats and more anxious than ever. Premier League teams have started a trend of scoring last-minute goals to completely change the tide of the game. Fans have fallen victim to the damning reality that a game is never over until its final minutes.
This past week, Newcastle played Arsenal and lost 1-2, with Arsenal’s Mikel Merino scoring a late goal in the 84th minute and Gabriel Magalhães scoring a match-winning goal in the 96th minute. After Woltemade scored and with only ten minutes left to play, Newcastle thought that they could be taking home all three points, but instead they walked away with none.
This isn’t the first time a team has been disappointed in the late minutes of a game. This season, Liverpool has been consistently winning games by scoring at the end of the second half. Up until this past week, Liverpool remained undefeated in doing so. However, they got a taste of their own medicine when playing Crystal Palace, with Eddie Nketiah scoring a goal in the 97th minute, beating Liverpool 2-1.
Why has this trend of scoring last-minute goals been on the rise? The team most recognised for scoring last-minute winners has proven to be Liverpool. This season, Liverpool has become the only team in Premier League history to score match-winning goals in the last 10 minutes in four consecutive matches.
There are several reasons why Liverpool has created this consistent pattern. Firstly, the attitude of the players. Under Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool players were taught to fight until the last minute of the game, no matter what the score was. It’s no surprise that when a team is losing in the second half, there is more pressure than ever to win, especially with a team like Liverpool, where fans have recently been expecting their team to finish strong. However, this attitude in Liverpool has been present since 1992, with Liverpool having the most game-winning goals in the 90th minute or later (47), beating Arsenal by 13.
The second reason for last-minute goal scorers is the coach’s strategy. Liverpool’s Arne Slot has made crucial changes to players in the second half that arguably are the reason for Liverpool’s late wins. In their match against Bournemouth, Slot put Chiesa in during the 82nd minute, who proceeded to score a mere 6 minutes later. Similarly, against Newcastle, Slot put in the 17-year-old Ngumoha in the 96th minute, where he later scored in the 100th. Slot proves that a coach’s second-half decisions are critical for securing a last-minute win. Whether this trend will continue for the rest of the season is unknown but fans are more anxious than ever, with football games becoming increasingly unpredictable and ending with spectacularly late goals.
Image credits: “Anfield, Liverpool Football Club – geograph.org.uk – 7681752” by Eirian Evans is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.