A Quantitative Analysis of Penalty Kicks in the English Premier League Joshua Gilmore-Jones, Allistair P. McRobert, & Paul R. Ford Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University Introduction (a) Penalty kicks during a soccer match provide the attacking team with a goal scoring opportunity Objective data on in-season penalty kicks, success rates and the influence of other key factors is scarce Success rate was 73% from 129 penalty kicks taken during shoot-outs in World Cup and Champions League finals (Hughes & Wells, 2002) The aim of this study was to conduct a quantitative analysis of penalty kicks across five seasons of the English Premier League (PL) (b) Method Every penalty kick between the start of 2009-10 and end of 2013-14 PL seasons was analysed using data on skysports.com Data was collated for penalty kick frequency, success rate, unsuccessful outcomes, and season, match or team characteristics There were 38 matches per season across 20 teams, making a total of 380 matches per season 1st half 2nd half (c) Results Figure 1. Penalty kicks awarded and success rates across (a) seasons, (b) match duration, and (c) team characteristics. There were 97 (SD = 11) penalty kicks per season, or one in every four matches A goal was scored in 79.5% of those penalty kicks, whereas 20.5% were unsuccessful Goalkeepers saved 16.2% of all penalties, whereas 1.0% hit the goal frame and missed, and 3.3% missed the goal and frame completely Figures show more penalties were awarded in (a) earlier seasons; (b) later in the match or half; and (c) to teams at home or drawing Success rate did not differ as a function of season, match duration or team characteristics Discussion Penalty kick success rate in-season was greater than during shoot-outs (Hughes & Wells, 2002) Data on penalty kicks and the influence of key factors can help coaches and players plan tactics Take home message Goals were scored in 79.5% of penalty kicks in the English Premier League and were awarded more frequently at home or later in the match References Hughes, M. & Wells, J. (2002). Int. J. Perf. An., 2, 55-72. Email: a.p.mcrobert@ljmu.ac.uk