You’re a Premier League player. You’re 25-yards out and see an opening on goal. The crowd is yelling ‘shoot’. What do you do?
Statistically speaking, you should not shoot!
Only 3.5% of all shots from a distance of 25-yards or more have resulted in a goal so far this 25-26 Premier League season. Whereas 13.1% of all shots from less than 25-yards have resulted in a goal so far this season in the Premier League.
In this article, we take a closer look at shot distances, the outcomes of those shots, and which squads in the Premier League are shooting from long-range. Keep reading below to learn more.
To note, the data set we are using in this article measures shot distance as the distance from where the shot is taken to the centre of the goal. Additionally, all data is as of the first 11-games played in the Premier League season (last game prior to the November 2025 international break).
Brighton Lead the League for Long-Range Shooting
After 11 matches in the 25-26 Premier League season, Brighton have recorded shots with the furthest average distance from goal. On average, Brighton’s shots are 19.03-yards from goal.
However, the 17 goals Brighton have scored in the Premier League so far this season have been from an average of 11.06-yards out. So, while Brighton might be unleashing their shots from good distance, most of their goals are scored from a much closer range.
Brighton’s furthest goal this season so far was scored by Yasin Ayari when they played Tottenham on September 20th. He scored a right-footed goal from 28-yards out.
That’s followed closely by Danny Welbeck’s 26-yard free kick against Manchester United on October 25th.
Brighton’s average shot distance for the shots that were saved was 19-yards and their average shot distance for shots that missed the target was 21.5-yards. So, for Brighton, their average shot distance is around the 18-yard box line.
A graph of the average shot distance for all Premier League squads can be seen below. Brighton (furthest) and Brentford (shortest – discussed below in the next section) are highlighted in red.
Brentford Take the Shortest Shots in the Premier League
To put that in perspective, Brentford is at the opposite end of the spectrum with an average shot distance of 14.32-yards from goal, which is the lowest so far this Premier League campaign.
Brentford have also scored 17-goals in the Premier League this season (same as Brighton) but they’ve taken 23 less shots. Brentford’s 17 goals have been from an average distance of 11.82-yards.
All of their goals have been from 17-yards or less, except for Mathias Jensen’s right-footed shot against Manchester United from 24-yards out which is bringing their average shot distance up.
What the Data Shows About Shooting Efficiency by Distance
For comparison against the rest of the squads in the Premier League, the average distance for all shots that have missed the target so far this season has been 16.95-yards. Similarly, the average distance for all Premier League shots that have been saved was 16.68-yards.
This statistic again reiterates that shots from distance aren’t usually worth their effort. While there some exceptions, the average Premier League goal this 25-26 season has been scored from a distance of 11.89-yards.
Furthermore, 14.15% of all shots 20-yards or less have resulted in a goal in this 25-26 Premier League season. While only 4.88% of shots over 20-yards have resulted in a goal.
To put that into perspective, there have been 289 Premier League goals scored so far this season (not including own goals). Of those 289 goals, 85.81% have been scored from a distance of 20-yards or less.
In terms of the work that goalkeepers have to do, 62.2% of all shots-on-target from a distance of 20-yards or less are saved. While for all shots-on-target that are from a distance of over 20-yards, the save percentage increases to 81.02%.
Comparison pie charts are included below for reference for the outcome of all shots that are from a distance of 20-yards or less and then from a distance of more than 20-yards.
As you can see, more shots are off target, more saves are made and far less goals are scored when shots are from a distance of greater than 20-yards.
Final Thoughts — Are Long-Range Shots Worth It?
Well, that’s it for this article. In this post, we took a look at shot distances so far in the 25-26 Premier League season (data as of November 20th for the first 11-matches) and those shot outcomes.
Brighton leads the league with the furthest average shot distance from goal, at 19.03-yards. Brentford have the short average shot distance at 14.32-yards.
Next, we took a look at shot outcomes from distance of 20-yards or less and then for shot distances of greater than 20-yards. The data reinforces that shots from further distances are often not worth their effort.
On the whole, shots outside the box are easier to defend, and are more often to be blocked, miss the net or be saved. From a statistical perspective, a better approach is to continue to build the play up and get inside the opponent’s box before having a go at goal.
With that being said, there are outliers. There have been 7 goals scored from over 30-yards this Premier League season so far.
The furthest being Szoboszlai’s free kick from 35-yards against Arsenal. However, the 248 goals scored from 20-yards or closer account for 85.6% of all goals scored so far this season in the Premier League.
What are your thoughts on long-distance shooting? Fans always urge their team to shoot from distance, especially late in the match. But the data recommends otherwise. Is it worth all those long-range misses when one eventually goes in? Have your say in the comments section below.
Stay tuned for future posts (subscribe if you’d like to receive these posts emailed to you) and please send us a message if there is a specific topic you would like to see covered. Additionally, if you have any ideas on how we can improve these articles, please send them our way too.
As always, thanks for taking the time to read these posts!
JC
All data in this article is from fbref.com so, thanks to them!
Main photo by Kampus Production on Pexels