Arcane, you might think long throws are quaint, but the share of long throws rose from 4.6% to 10.9% in 2025/26, with an average of 4.1 long throws per game producing 1.1 shots and 0.10 goals; Crystal Palace and Brentford lead with 20 shots and 3 goals each, and teams including Sunderland, Burnley, Everton, Manchester United and Newcastle have also scored. You’ll appreciate that long throws are hard for defenders and create real scoring chances, and targeted heavy-ball training can boost your power and technique with visible results in two weeks.
Increase in Long Throw Usage
Long throws have become a far more common weapon in the Premier League, with the share of long throws per game rising from 4.6% in 2024/25 to 10.9% in 2025/26. On average, teams now play 4.1 long throws per game, generating 1.1 shots and 0.10 goals per game, so you can see how the tactic is translating into measurable attacking output.
Notable Success Stories and Struggles
Some sides have converted long throws into clear attacking returns: Crystal Palace and Brentford lead the way with 20 shots and 3 goals each from long throws this season. Others, such as Sunderland, Burnley, Everton, Manchester United and Newcastle have also scored from long throws, demonstrating that the set-piece can deliver for a range of teams if you implement it well.
If you’re defending against them, long throws are particularly hard to manage: they send heavy, high balls into crowded areas and force errors, making them a dangerous route to goal that regularly creates real scoring opportunities.
If you’re a coach or player looking to add this weapon to your game, heavy ball training taught on LongThrowCoach.com builds the strength, technique and power behind effective long throws, with visible results in as little as two weeks.
Long Throws Leading to Shots
You can see the trend clearly in the numbers: the share of long throws per game has jumped from 4.6% in 2024/25 to 10.9% in 2025/26, and teams now average 4.1 long throws per game that generate 1.1 shots and 0.10 goals per game, so your side can expect more set-piece chances from touchline restarts.
Because long throws are difficult for defenders to manage and often produce chaotic, high-percentage attacking moments, you should view them as a replicable source of shots; targeted training — for example, the heavy ball work taught at LongThrowCoach.com — rapidly builds the strength and technique that boost delivery distance and accuracy, with visible results in two weeks.
Goals Scored from Long Throws
In terms of turning throws into goals, Crystal Palace and Brentford lead the way, each producing 20 shots and 3 goals from long throws this season, while teams including Sunderland, Burnley, Everton, Manchester United and Newcastle have also found the net from this set-piece type.
Those figures show that long throws are not merely peripheral; they are a genuine scoring route that can alter matches, so if you want to increase your attacking variety, you should incorporate accurate, powerful throws into your rehearsal plans and defensive routines.
Practically, that means training the delivery, target-area runs and physical conditioning together: by improving throw distance and precision, you raise the likelihood of successful contact in the box, and because the tactic is gaining league-wide traction, your opponents will need to adapt if you aim to exploit this high-return set-piece more often.
Difficulty in Defending Against Long Throws
When you face long throws, the rise from 4.6% (2024/25) to 10.9% (2025/26) in long-throw frequency means you will see more aerial chaos than in previous seasons; with an average of 4.1 long throws per game producing 1.1 shots and 0.10 goals per game, defenders are repeatedly tested in transitional, congested areas.
Your backline must cope with contesting high balls, managing second balls and organised zonal or man-marking breakdowns; training that builds throwing-specific strength and technique can tilt the balance — heavy ball work, as taught on LongThrowCoach.com, builds strength, technique and power and shows results visible in 2 weeks.
Opportunities Created for Opposition Players
Long throws routinely create direct scoring chances: Crystal Palace and Brentford alone have generated 20 shots and 3 goals each from long throws this season, while Sunderland, Burnley, Everton, Manchester United and Newcastle have also converted from this route, making it a potent avenue for opposition attackers.
For you, that means opposing teams will target aerial strengths and set-piece routines to manufacture fouls, flick-ons and knockdowns; exploiting second balls and creating overloads at the near post or edge of the box becomes an obvious method to unsettle your defence.
Given the clear upward trend in long-throw usage and the measurable output per game, you should prioritise rehearsing defensive scenarios under pressure and consider integrating heavy-ball throw training into your set-piece work to blunt the opposition’s threat.