Goals come in added time far more often than they used to, and the largest part of the explanation is administrative rather than romantic. Referees now add the actual time lost rather than a nominal amount, which lengthened matches measurably from the 2023/24 season onwards. More minutes produce more chances. On top of that sit squad depth, substitution rules and the simple fact that a team one goal behind in the hundredth minute plays differently from a team one goal behind in the seventieth.
Updated October 2026. Figures below are Premier League data as published by the competition; other leagues vary.
What the laws actually say about time lost
Law 7 of the Laws of the Game, as published by the International Football Association Board, sets a match at two equal halves of 45 minutes and then lists what the referee must allow for in each half. The list is specific: substitutions, assessment or removal of injured players, time wasting, disciplinary sanctions, medical stoppages permitted by competition rules such as drinks breaks of up to a minute and cooling breaks of ninety seconds to three minutes, delays relating to video assistant referee checks and reviews, goal celebrations, and any other cause including significant delay to a restart.
Two procedural details matter for late drama. The fourth official indicates the minimum additional time at the end of the final minute of each half, and that figure may be increased by the referee but never reduced. And if a penalty kick has to be taken or retaken, the half is extended until the kick is completed, which is why a match can finish on a spot kick with no restart.
6 simple reasons goals come in added time
- The counting method changed. The Premier League aligned with IFAB timekeeping guidance before the 2023/24 season, leaving stadium clocks running to the completion of each half and adding the exact time lost for certain events rather than a nominal allowance.
- Matches got longer, so there is simply more football. Average match time rose from 96:34 in 2020/21 and 98:27 in 2022/23 to 101:42 across the first 203 games of 2023/24, with ball-in-play time up from 54:52 to 58:37.
- Added time itself grew sharply. The Premier League recorded a 38.4 percent rise in the average number of seconds played beyond 90 minutes between 2022/23 and 2023/24, from 507 to 702.
- Five substitutes changed the last twenty minutes. Law 3 allows up to five substitutes in official competitions where the competition permits it, using a maximum of three substitution opportunities plus half-time. Fresh attackers face defenders who have played the whole match.
- Set pieces are being attacked harder. Opta Analyst, writing for the Premier League in October 2025, recorded 90th minute set-piece goals rising from one every 15 games in 2024/25 to one every 10 games early in 2025/26.
- Score state pushes teams forward. When the game is still live at 95 minutes, a side chasing a point or three commits players upfield, and the resulting open play produces most of the late goals.
How large the effect actually is
The Premier League published the numbers as the change landed. By March 2024, after 273 matches, the 2023/24 season had already produced 87 goals in the 90th minute or later, beating the previous record of 85 set in both 2018/19 and 2021/22 over full 380 match seasons. The same table showed average match length of 101 minutes 39 seconds, against 96:40 in 2018/19 and 97:29 in 2021/22.
The goal rate moved more than the clock did. Over the first half of 2023/24 the league recorded a 38.4 percent increase in seconds played beyond 90 minutes but a 77.3 percent rise in goals scored in that period, from 0.22 to 0.39 per game. Of the 55 goals scored after 90 minutes at that point, 41 came from open play, 6 from penalties, 6 from corners and 2 from free kicks, so the mix was broadly similar to the rest of the match rather than dominated by one route.
Substitutes were a visible part of it. The league recorded 7.8 substitutions per game in 2023/24 with the first change arriving on average in the 58th minute, down from the 61st minute three seasons earlier, and replacements scoring 14.8 percent of all goals against 12.2 percent the previous season.
The bit that is not just arithmetic
By February 2026, with 239 matches played in 2025/26, the Premier League reported 76 goals in the 90th minute or later from only 666 goals in total, meaning 11.4 percent of all goals arrived in stoppage time against 9.3 percent at the same stage of 2024/25 and 9.5 percent in 2023/24. Average match time was 100:20, slightly shorter than 2023/24, and ball-in-play time was down to 55:35. So the proportion rose while the clock did not.
Opta Analyst, looking at the same trend earlier in that season, offered squad depth, a heavier focus on set pieces and tired defenders as candidate explanations while being careful not to claim certainty. That caution is the right note. The timekeeping change is measured and documented; the extra effect on top of it is still an open question. If you want the other side of modern officiating, our explainer on semi-automated offside covers how the technology actually reaches a decision, and why clubs rest young players covers the squad management that makes late substitutions possible.
What this means if you watch or bet nothing at all
- Do not leave early. On the 2025/26 figures above, more than one goal in nine arrived in the 90th minute or later.
- The announced figure is a minimum. Law 7 allows the referee to increase it, never to reduce it.
- Time wasting is now expensive. Because the exact stoppage is added for substitutions, injuries, red cards and video reviews, running the clock down buys less than it used to.
- Watch the substitution windows. Three opportunities plus half-time means changes arrive in clusters, and those clusters now land with ten real minutes still to play.
- Expect league variation. These figures are Premier League figures, and competitions apply the guidance with their own details.
Common questions
Why is there so much added time now? Because the method changed. From 2023/24 the Premier League followed IFAB guidance on effective playing time, adding the exact time lost for events such as substitutions, injuries, penalties, red cards and video reviews instead of a nominal allowance.
How much longer are matches? Premier League average match time rose from 98 minutes 27 seconds in 2022/23 to 101 minutes 42 seconds over the first 203 games of 2023/24, with ball-in-play time up from 54:52 to 58:37.
Can the referee reduce the announced added time? No. Law 7 states that the fourth official indicates the minimum additional time decided by the referee, and that it may be increased but not reduced.
Why can a match end on a penalty? Law 7 extends the half until a penalty kick that has to be taken or retaken is completed. If a goal is scored directly from it the match ends immediately, with no kick-off.
Do five substitutes explain the late goals? They contribute. Law 3 permits up to five substitutes across three substitution opportunities plus half-time, and the Premier League recorded substitutes scoring 14.8 percent of goals in 2023/24 against 12.2 percent the season before.
Sources and further reading
Where the figures and rules above come from, so you can check them:
- Law 7, allowance for time lost, the fourth official and penalty extensions: IFAB Laws of the Game
- Law 3, five substitutes and three substitution opportunities: IFAB Laws of the Game
- Match length, ball-in-play time, added-time seconds and substitute goals: Premier League
- How additional time is calculated, by incident type: Premier League
- Record for goals in the 90th minute or later and match length table: Premier League
- Set-piece and late-goal rates early in 2025/26: Opta Analyst for the Premier League
- Goals after 90 minutes as a share of all goals, after Matchweek 24: Premier League
Photo credit: Referee during a football match by Samson Ssemakadde, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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