Premier League tactical notebook: Five early-season data trends

英超战术笔记：赛季初期的五大数据趋势

By Mark CareySept. 23, 2025 11:00 pm

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We are precisely 13.16 per cent of the way through the 2025-26 Premier League campaign, meaning any conclusions on player or team performance are far from concrete at this stage.

2025-26赛季英超联赛已恰好进行了13.16%，这意味着目前关于球员或球队表现的任何结论都远非定论。

There is still so much football to be played, but a few early-season quirks have begun to take shape. Long throws into the penalty box are back, direct play is in vogue again, and we are increasingly seeing teams engage in rugby-style kick-offs to gain territory.

仍有大量比赛待进行，但一些赛季初的奇特现象已开始显现。掷长距离界外球到禁区的方式回归，直接打法再度流行，并且我们越来越多地看到球队采用橄榄球式的开球来获取场地控制权。

These trends might become less or more pronounced in the coming weeks but, in the meantime, allow The Athletic to share some other patterns that we have spotted. Here are five themes from the opening five games across the division --- let's dive in.

这些趋势在未来几周可能会减弱或加剧，但与此同时，请允许《The Athletic》分享我们注意到的一些其他模式。以下是联赛开局五轮比赛中的五个主题——让我们深入探讨。

Welcome to the Premier League

欢迎来到英超

The Athletic's Michael Cox recently analysed the disjointed performances we have seen from many teams early this season as they look to bed in their new signings, lots of whom didn't arrive until after the games had begun to count.

《The Athletic》的迈克尔·考克斯近期分析了本赛季初许多球队表现出的脱节现象，这是因为他们正努力让新援融入，其中不少球员直到联赛开打后才到位。

Among the Premier League's top sides, none of Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Newcastle or Manchester United has been free-flowing going forward, but all five are looking to assimilate a new front line following a busy summer of spending.

在英超顶级强队中，利物浦、阿森纳、切尔西、纽卡斯尔或曼联在进攻端都未显流畅，但这五支球队在经历一个繁忙的夏窗后，都正试图整合新的锋线。

With the transfer window now closed until January, it is worth highlighting just how much turnover there has been among the Premier League sides during the main window of the year compared with previous years.

随着转会窗现已关闭直至一月，有必要强调一下，与往年相比，英超各队在今年的主要转会窗口期间人员变动有多大。

Among the 17 non-promoted teams within each respective campaign, 2025-26 has seen 85 players make their debut within the first five games. Those could be new signings or an initial senior appearance given to a player from the club's academy.

在各赛季未经历升级的17支球队中，2025-26赛季有85名球员在前五场比赛中完成了首秀。这些可能是新签约的球员，或是从俱乐部青训学院提拔上来首次亮相一线队的球员。

For context, that figure edges ahead of each of the past six years.

作为对比，该数字略高于过去六年中的每一年。

There was a notable jump in debuts between 2022 and 2023, most likely due to the introduction of the five-substitutions-per-game rule, which saw clubs add (and use) more options within their squad.

在2022年至2023年间，首秀人数出现显著跃升，这很可能是由于每场可换五人的规则引入，使得俱乐部在阵容中增加（并使用）了更多选择。

Still, the numbers match what the eyes can see this season. Performances might appear fragmented among some teams, but managers are integrating new players at a higher rate than we have seen in recent campaigns.

尽管如此，数据与本赛季肉眼所见的情况相符。一些球队的表现可能显得零散，但主帅们整合新球员的速度比我们在近几个赛季看到的要快。

Are players looking along the line more often?

球员们更频繁地注意站位了吗？

Whatever your opinion on VAR, we are seeing improvements in how it is being used. Questionable tackles remain subjective, but offside calls are binary --- you are either off or you're not.

无论你对VAR看法如何，我们看到其使用方式正在改进。有争议的铲抢判罚仍是主观的，但越位判罚是非分明的——你要么越位，要么不越位。

Semi-automated offside technology (SAOT) has been rolled out in the Premier League over the past five months, using skeletal tracking data to add a greater degree of accuracy to tight decisions.

半自动越位技术（SAOT）在过去五个月已於英超联赛中推出，该技术利用骨骼追踪数据，为毫厘之间的判罚增加了更高的准确性。

Knowledge of SAOT's existence appears to have impacted player behaviour, with a notable drop in offside calls after five games compared with previous campaigns at the same stage of a season.

对SAOT存在的认知似乎已经影响了球员的行为，与往年同期相比，本赛季五场比赛后的越位判罚次数显著下降。

Realising that the tiniest of margins will be picked up on by the technology, perhaps players are being more intelligent with their runs from deeper positions.

意识到最细微的差距也会被技术捕捉到，球员们或许在从更深位置启动跑动时变得更聪明了。

Alternatively, there might be less inclination --- or opportunity --- to play those balls in behind in the first place. This season has seen 59 through balls completed so far, which is the lowest figure for them at the same stage of a campaign since 2021-22.

或者，打身后球的倾向（或机会）本身可能就减少了。本赛季至今成功直塞球为59次，这是自2021-22赛季以来同期的最低数字。

Like the introduction of the back-pass rule in 1992 or the goal-kick rule change in 2019-20, maybe a change to the game's officiating technology might influence the tactical decisions being made on the pitch.

就像1992年引入回传规则或2019-20赛季球门球规则改变一样，比赛裁判技术的变革或许正在影响场上做出的战术决策。

Are Aston Villa too predictable?

阿斯顿维拉是否过于容易被预测？

Things have not gone to plan for Villa in the opening weeks.

对于维拉来说，开局几周的情况并未按计划发展。

Three points, no wins and only one goal scored is a red flag for any team after five games --- especially for one with aspirations to return to the Champions League after reaching its quarter-finals last season but missing out on qualification on the domestic campaign's final day. Unai Emery's side are already falling behind in the race.

五场比赛后仅积三分、未尝胜绩且只打进一球，这对任何球队都是警示信号——尤其对于一支上赛季打入欧冠八强、却在联赛最后一轮错失资格，并渴望重返欧冠的球队而言。埃梅里的球队在竞争中已经落后。

The Spaniard's teams have rarely been overly expansive in their structure, often having a midfield four with narrow No 10s and full-backs tasked with offering width. So far this season, that width has continued to come from left-back Lucas Digne, with 38 per cent of Villa's attacking touches coming down their left third of the pitch.

这位西班牙教头的球队在阵型结构上很少过于开放，通常采用四中场，配备内收的10号位球员，而边后卫则负责提供宽度。本赛季至今，宽度依然主要来自左后卫卢卡斯·迪涅，维拉38%的进攻触球发生在球场左侧三分之一区域。

Notably, 31 per cent of those touches are coming through the middle third, which is currently the highest share since 2018-19. It is also a greater percentage than any other Premier League club over the first month.

值得注意的是，31%的触球通过中路三分之一区域完成，这是自2018-19赛季以来的最高比例。在第一个月中，这也高于英超任何其他俱乐部。

Attacking through the heart of the pitch is not necessarily a bad thing, but knowing Villa's current issues going forward, there is evidence to suggest they have become a little too easy for opponents to read.

通过球场中路发起进攻未必是坏事，但考虑到维拉当前进攻端的问题，有证据表明他们的进攻变得有些过于容易被对手识破。

John McGinn has started many of these games on the right wing, but the Scotland international is inclined to come inside from there, meaning Villa's attack becomes far too narrow --- or at best, skewed towards one flank.

约翰·麦金在许多比赛中首发担任右边锋，但这位苏格兰国脚倾向于从该位置内切，这意味着维拉的进攻变得过于狭窄——或者充其量是偏向一侧。

The deadline-day arrivals of loanees Harvey Elliott and Jadon Sancho might bring more dynamism once they gel with their new colleagues, but the early signs suggest Emery's core task will be to curate more balance to Villa's attack.

压哨租借而来的哈维·埃利奥特和杰登·桑乔在与新队友磨合后可能会带来更多活力，但早期迹象表明，埃梅里的核心任务将是精心调整维拉的进攻，使其更加均衡。

Newcastle's outswingers are the league's outliers

纽卡斯尔的战术角球成为联赛异类

Things are a little calmer at St James' Park since the transfer window closed three weeks ago.

自从三周前转会窗关闭后，圣詹姆斯公园球场的情况稍微平静了一些。

We can now focus solely on matters on the pitch, and there is a very specific phase of play on which Eddie Howe's men stand out from the pack. At a time when in-swinging corners are the predominant delivery method in the Premier League, no side has taken more out-swingers this season than Newcastle.

我们现在可以只关注场上事务了，埃迪·豪的球队在一个非常特定的比赛阶段脱颖而出。当内旋角球成为英超主流的罚球方式时，本赛季没有哪支球队比纽卡斯尔踢了更多的外旋角球。

This is specific to their right-sided corners, and is largely born of circumstances that date back to last season. Left-back Lewis Hall gained his first league start of the season against Bournemouth on Sunday but is still working his way back from a long-term foot injury --- with the right-footed Tino Livramento having deputised excellently on the left side of defence in his absence.

这特指他们右侧的角球，并且很大程度上源于上赛季延续下来的情况。左后卫刘易斯·霍尔在周日对阵伯恩茅斯的比赛中获得了本赛季首次联赛首发，但他仍处于长期脚伤后的恢复期——在他缺阵期间，右脚将蒂诺·利夫拉门托在左后卫位置上表现出色。

That means that Newcastle simply do not have a natural left-footer to whip those crosses under the crossbar from the right side of the pitch, with Kieran Trippier having been the primary taker from both sides for much of this season.

这意味着纽卡斯尔根本没有天生的左脚将能从球场右侧旋球到门柱附近，而基兰·特里皮尔在本赛季大部分时间里一直是左右两侧角球的主罚者。

Mapping Newcastle's corner end-locations since last season shows just how different their approach has been in this one --- or rather, forced to be --- when comparing their left and right sides.

绘制纽卡斯尔自上赛季以来的角球落点图显示，比较他们的左右两侧时，他们本赛季的处理方式有多么不同——或者更确切地说，是被迫不同。

The towering presence of new signing Nick Woltemade (6ft 6in/198cm) joins Dan Burn (6ft 7in), Sven Botman (6ft 4in) and Fabian Schar (6ft 1in) as the key targets for those deliveries, often pulling away from goal to gain first contact when the ball is played from the right side.

新援尼克·沃尔特梅德（6英尺6英寸/198厘米）的高大身影，与丹·伯恩（6英尺7英寸）、斯文·博特曼（6英尺4英寸）和法比安·舍尔（6英尺1英寸）一起成为这些传中的关键目标，当球从右侧开出时，他们常会拉出禁区以争取第一落点。

Just five goals from corners since the start of last season is not the strongest return from Howe's side, but with Hall back in the team, it looks like their delivery will benefit from greater unpredictability in the coming weeks.

自上赛季开始以来，仅从角球中打入五球并非豪的球队最强的回报，但随着霍尔回归球队，看来他们的传中在接下来几周将因更具不可预测性而受益。

Set pieces are so back

定位球强势回归

Set pieces remain a strong topic of conversation, dominating the opening weeks of the season as teams look to show off their shiny, new choreographed routines.

定位球仍然是热议话题，在赛季开局几周占据主导地位，各队都希望展示他们光鲜的、新的战术套路。

A dig into the early numbers shows just how dominant set pieces have been on the wider goalscoring landscape so far, with 35 per cent of the 2025-26 Premier League's total goals coming from dead-ball situations (including penalties).

深入探究早期数据可以看出定位球在整体进球中所占的主导地位：2025-26赛季英超总进球数的35%来自死球 situations（包括点球）。

As shown in the graphic below, that is a big jump from recent years at the same stage of a season.

如下图所示，这与往年同期相比是一个巨大的飞跃。

There have been some delightful direct free-kicks within that, with Liverpool's Dominik Szoboszlai and Anton Stach of Leeds United firing two beautiful efforts into the top corner. A tally of 22 corner goals is a three-season high for this point of the campaign, but the headline act of set-piece quirks is undoubtedly the long throws into the penalty area.

其中不乏一些精彩的直接任意球破门，利物浦的索博斯洛伊和利兹联的安东·斯塔赫都打入了两记漂亮的进球，直挂死角。22个角球进球数是本赛季此时近三个赛季的最高值，但定位球怪招中的主角无疑是掷入禁区的大力界外球。

After five games, 164 throw-ins from within the final third have targeted the penalty box --- which is an astonishing increase on previous years. For context, no complete campaign has reached three figures at this stage since 2018-19.

五场比赛后，已有164次在前场三分之一区域掷出的界外球以禁区为目标——这与往年相比是惊人的增长。作为背景，自2018-19赛季以来，没有任何完整赛季在此时达到三位数。

It has been a well-discussed theme of the season so far, but the numbers highlight just how prominent set pieces have been in these early rounds.

这已是本赛季至今被广泛讨论的主题，但数据突显了定位球在这些早期轮次中有多么突出。

Again, some of these trends might fall away as the campaign gets fully into its stride, but there appears to be a paradigm shift occurring --- and there is plenty of room for more weird and wonderful quirks as the weeks go by.

再次强调，随着赛季全面展开，其中一些趋势可能会消退，但似乎正发生一种范式转变——并且随着时间推移，仍有充足的空间出现更多奇特而精妙的招数。