The death of the long ball has been frequently pronounced as football has evolved in the past few years.

Playing out from the back has become the standard. Direct teams are the anomaly rather than the norm.

The logical tactical evolution after that was the rise of the high press, followed by attempts to deliberately lure the press to exploit spaces in behind those opposition players doing the pressing.

During that time, teams have been playing shorter passes from the back. Goalkeepers are no longer habitually launching long balls as far up the pitch as they can. Instead, they play a key role in their team’s build-up phase, a trend best illustrated by the decline of the long ball in Europe’s top leagues, especially the Premier League.

Goalkeepers in England’s top flight have been playing fewer long balls. Since the start of the 2018-19 Premier League season, the percentage of goalkeeper passes played long — defined as balls that travel at least 32m (35 yards) — has been decreasing year on year, dropping from 69 per cent to under half in that six-year period.

The move towards playing shorter passes means ’keepers have increasingly been required to possess a different skill set. Technical ability on the ball has become a necessity, leading to a focus on developing goalkeepers who are good with their feet under pressure.

This increased technical quality of goalkeepers, and the rise of aggressive pressing, have led to teams maximising long passes to exploit spaces upfield.

“When you play teams against man to man, the man free is the ‘keeper,” said Pep Guardiola after his Manchester City side’s 3-0 away win against Burnley at the start of last season. “That’s why you have to use this alternative.”

In the second half of that game, City exploited Burnley’s man-marking by isolating striker Erling Haaland and using goalkeeper Ederson to play long passes to him. Ederson completed 16 of his 28 long passes at Turf Moor that night — his highest Premier League tally since 2018-19 — and one of those led to the free kick through which City scored their third goal.

Similarly, visitors Brentford tried to press City man-to-man in their Premier League match last month. Again, the City players dropped deeper to drag Brentford defenders out of position, creating space for Haaland to attack and for Ederson to send long passes into.

In this example, Jack Grealish and Savinho retreat to move their markers forward, Sepp van den Berg and Nathan Collins, and isolate Haaland against Ethan Pinnock.

Once the City players attract Brentford’s defenders higher up the pitch, Ederson plays a long ball towards Haaland, who beats Pinnock to score the winner.

“When you isolate Haaland against a central defender, with the quality that we have with Ederson and (backup goalkeeper) Stefan Ortega, it’s a weapon that we have to exploit,” said Guardiola after City’s 2-1 victory that day.

This season has been the third in a row in which City have used Ederson’s long balls towards Haaland to beat man-to-man pressing schemes. Considering the qualities and profiles of the two players, it’s a golden solution.

On the other side of Manchester, Guardiola’s United counterpart Erik ten Hag was never lucky enough to see Andre Onana’s long balls towards Diogo Dalot result in a goal.

Since the beginning of last season, ’keeper Onana has been trying to find Dalot’s runs behind the defence, whether the Portuguese full-back was starting from a narrow infield position or a wider one.

The idea is to wait until Dalot has curved his run beyond the opposition back line before the goalkeeper plays the long ball into space with the other United players vacating that area.

In the 2-1 home win against Brentford this month, Dalot snuck behind Kevin Schade — after Marcus Rashford’s narrow positioning dragged Kristoffer Ajer infield — to attack the space beyond the defence.

Onana perfectly times his long pass, with Dalot still onside…

… but the full-back shoots straight at Mark Flekken.

Liverpool have also been using their goalkeepers’ long-range distribution to execute a specific move.

Alisson and his backup Caoimhin Kelleher have been playing long balls to Mohamed Salah to start an up-back-through passing pattern down their right wing.

Liverpool’s third goal in a 4-1 win against Sevilla in pre-season is an example of how the move works: Alisson goes direct towards Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai makes a third-man run into the space the Egyptian winger has vacated, even before the latter gets the ball back to Diogo Jota, who then finds the Hungarian midfielder’s run.

Salah has received 42 per cent of Liverpool goalkeepers’ completed long passes in the Premier League this season, a stark increase compared to the previous six campaigns. New head coach Arne Slot is turning him into a direct outlet.

It’s important to remember that this is not just a case of goalkeepers launching their kicks forward with no purpose. The idea is to have a specific routine that maximises your chance of scoring a goal.

Arsenal’s David Raya has played 56 per cent of his passes long in the Premier League so far this season — only Nottingham Forest, Everton and Wolverhampton Wanderers’ goalkeepers have gone direct more frequently. But Arsenal aren’t just lumping the ball forward for the sake of it. Raya’s long passes are mainly targeted towards Kai Havertz near the right touchline, with the other Arsenal players in position to try to then win the second ball.

Since Raya and Havertz joined Arsenal in summer 2023, the Germany forward has received as many of the Spain goalkeeper’s completed long passes as the rest of the team combined in the Premier League (102 of 204). The next highest receivers on the list are Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli, with just 17 each.

Football’s evolution in recent years has turned goalkeepers’ long balls into a tool to attack space and progress up the pitch.

More emphasis on build-up play has favoured technically sound ‘keepers, while also leading to the rise of aggressive pressing and higher defensive lines. Goalkeepers can target specific areas and team-mates to bypass that press and attack the space it inevitably creates.

Numerically, long balls played by ’keepers are in decline but tactically, they are more important than ever.

(Top photo: Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

Manchester United have reached an agreement with Sporting Lisbon over the hire of Ruben Amorim as head coach.

As part of the deal Amorim is set to stay with Sporting for their next three games, including against Manchester City on Tuesday and Braga on November 10, meaning he would first take charge of United away at Ipswich Town on November 24.

Sporting were determined to keep hold of Amorim for this crucial period and United have accepted those terms in recognition of the 39-year-old’s standing at the Portuguese club and his desire for a smooth exit mid-campaign.

Amorim has a €10million (£8.4m, $10.9m) release clause in his contract, but there is also a 30-day notice period. United are willing to pay €1m extra to get Amorim earlier, so he can start work during the international break. Sporting had been demanding an additional €5m for an immediate release, according to people familiar with the deal in Portugal.

Sporting insist everything is not yet finalised and there have also been conversations around further compensation to allow the departures of the staff Amorim has earmarked to join him, namely first-team coaches Emanuel Ferro, Adelio Candido, and Carlos Fernandes, as well as goalkeeping coach Jorge Vital and sports scientist Paulo Barreira. United chief executive Omar Berrada has been in Lisbon leading the talks for United.

Amorim wants a satisfactory departure from a club he has called home for four years, conscious of the bond established with supporters in two league title wins, and United were open to such diplomacy given the season is underway and Ruud van Nistelrooy is capable of stepping up as interim manager.

Speaking ahead of Sporting’s game with Estrela Amadora on Friday night, Amorim refused to expand on when an announcement would be made.

“It’s a negotiation between two clubs. It’s never easy. Even with the clauses, it’s never easy. They have to talk,” he told reporters.

“We will have clarification after the game. It will be very clear so it’s one more day after the game tomorrow we will have the decision made.”

He did not watch United’s win over Leicester City on Wednesday night, focusing instead on Estrela while also monitoring Manchester City, who Sporting take on in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Asked what he liked about the Premier League in general, he added: “Everything.”

Van Nistelrooy would, in this timeframe, have a total of four games in charge adding in Chelsea in the Premier League, PAOK in the Europa League, and Leicester again in the Premier League.

The Dutchman’s long-term future at the club is not yet certain. He has said he is willing to work in any capacity Amorim sees fit. A week as United boss is at least an opportunity to enhance his CV as a No 1.

The pursuit of Amorim follows the decision to relieve Erik ten Hag of his duties as manager on Monday after two and a half years in charge.

What will Amorim bring to United?

Analysis by senior data analyst Mark Carey

Ruben Amorim is a manager that has been linked with his fair share of jobs in recent months, and you can understand why the 39-year-old is in demand.

Amorim guided Sporting to a first league title for 19 years in 2021-22, followed it up with another victory last season, and has nine wins from nine with Sporting sitting pretty at the top of the Primeira Liga this season.

Even accounting for the quality imbalance of the Primeira Liga, a side who boasted, statistically, one of the best attacks (Chance creation, 95 out 99) and the best defences (Chance prevention, 97 out of 99) shows that their manager must be having a positive effect.

Stylistically, Amorim’s 3-4-3 — or more specifically, a 3-4-2-1 — is built on high possession, flexible attacking approaches and a strong defensive foundation.

Last season’s arrival of striker Viktor Gyokeres led to a more transitional, direct style of attack (Patient attack, 49 out of 99). It also highlights Amorim’s ability to maximise his style by adapting to the skill sets of his players.

Amorim has shown his desire to bring young talent into the first team — including Goncalo Inacio, Matheus Nunes, Nuno Mendes and Ousmane Diomande — and has improved the team’s quality with the resources at his disposal.

Bruno Fernandes moved to Manchester United a little over a month before Amorim’s appointment, but Mendes (to Paris Saint-Germain), Nunes (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Pedro Porro (Tottenham Hotspur), Manuel Ugarte (also to PSG) and Joao Palhinha (Fulham) are among the talented players whom Amorim has improved before being sold for high fees.

Title-winning credentials? Tick. Fielding young players? Tick. Improving individual player performance? Tick. There are reasons why Amorim has been so highly sought-after among Europe’s elite.

(Top photo: Diogo Cardoso/Getty Images)

NASCAR suspended Truck Series driver Conner Jones for one race on Wednesday after he intentionally crashed another driver, Matt Mills — who was hospitalized for two days over the weekend as a result of the wreck.

Jones, 18, lost his temper while racing Saturday at Homestead-Miami Speedway and rammed into Mills’ rear bumper, sending Mills’ truck up the racetrack and into the wall. Mills’ truck then caught fire. The driver was taken to a local hospital due to smoke inhalation.

NASCAR issued a two-lap penalty to Jones at the time. But after meeting this week, officials determined that Jones’ behavior also warranted a one-race suspension.

Jones refused to speak with reporters at the track, but later issued an apology in a statement on social media that said, in part: “Matt and I have encountered several on-track incidents this season, and I let my frustration get the best of me. I underestimated the impact my actions would have on Matt, and I deeply regret the consequences that followed.”

pic.twitter.com/wbLtM64Id8

— Conner Jones (@connerjones88) October 26, 2024

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Mills, after being released from the hospital Monday, posted a video to his social media channels that expressed appreciation for the outpouring of well-wishes from fans.

“Definitely didn’t like being in the hospital as long as I was or being in that situation,” Mills said, his voice still raspy from the smoke. “Having you guys there to support me and help me get through that, I can’t thank you all enough.”

Glad to be heading home. Appreciate everyone that reached out over the last couple of days. 🙏 pic.twitter.com/lN7Ph8y2fy

— Matt Mills (@mattmillsracing) October 28, 2024

Mills has been cleared to race Friday at Martinsville Speedway. He is 23rd in the point standings for Niece Motorsports with two top-10 finishes this year.

Jones, who has driven a part-time schedule for ThorSport Racing this season, has a best finish of 11th on the season. A replacement for Jones has not been named.

Required reading

(Photo: James Gilbert / Getty Images)