The nearer to goal, the better: This one is obvious, and we’ve already seen how it’s affected the shooting distance of teams over the decade following the advent of xG. The more central, the better: Shots from the central part of the penalty area are more valuable than those from tighter angles. Feet are better than heads: All other things being equal, shots taken with feet are much more likely to result in goals than headed shots. Crosses are hard: In general, crosses are more difficult to convert than ground passes, through-balls, and shots after dribbles. The clearer the sight of goal, the
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