When are goals scored?

SoccerSTATS.com - updated on: 27 Sep 2022

Goals statistics come in different types, calculated in terms of averages or frequency. Here we are looking at the timing side of goals: when goals have been scored, for each team and at the league level.

Yet another last-minute equalizer against our team? This seems to be happening much too often lately. Another 2 points lost. What on earth might be happening with the team during those last minutes this season? Is that the sign of a specific weakness, or just plain bad luck?

Well maybe the team didn't actually concede a lot of goals in the last minutes, but it feels otherwise when each of those goals has been a crucial one, changing the course of the game.

It feels as if it doesn't matter if our team would have actually scored more goals than they have conceded in that same time segment. If those goals sare the likes of a 3-0 becoming a 4-0 lead, or a 0-4 trailing position turning into a 1-4 defeat, the mild positive short-lasting memories left by all such goals combined will never offset the feeling of that single nasty late goal conceded that ended up costing hardly-fought points.

Goals by time segments

When we think our team has scored or conceded a lot of goals at specific times during matches, a simple count of all goals scored and conceded during each time segment (like each 15 minutes or each 10 minutes) should provide us with a clearer picture as to how many goals exactly we are talking about in each case.

The goal timing stats provide a number of tables related to how many goals have been scored and conceded by each team during specific time segments.

Goals scored / conceded in each 15-minute segment

The table shows, for each team, the number of goals scored and conceded during minutes 1 through 15, 16 through 30, etc.

Goals scored / conceded in each 10-minute segment

That table provides a more granular view of goals scored and conceded by each team, as it focuses on shorter (10-minute) time periods.

Goals by Half

The Goals by Half table shows, for each team, the percentage of goals scored in the first half and in the second half. It also lists the average minute of the goals scored by the team.

The table is meant to present a global picture of goals scored by each team in each half, for home and away matches combined. There can be differences in the times when some teams have scored their goals, depending on whether or not those goals have been scored in home games. You can see more details on home/away differences in terms of goals scored and conceded on the Goals by time segment home and away tables.

As for the "Average minute" value, it should be noted that if we take the example of a team with an average goal minute value of 46, it does not necessarily mean that the team has scored more goals around the 46th minute. A team with all goals scored very early and very late in the games, with zero goals between the 10th and the 80th minute, could also have an average goal minute value of 46.

Here again, the Goals by time segment tables can help idenfity how the team goals are spread throughout different time segments. The goal of such average minute value is rather to identify which teams tended to score their goals earlier or later than others, on average.

Goals timing at the league level

Goals per time segment

The table below shows an example of when the goals have been scored for a given league all teams combined during the season. It lists, for each 15-minute segment, the number of goals scored and the percentage relative to total goals scored.

The same type of data is also provided for goals scored in the first half compared to goals scored in the second half, again at the league level.


In addition to the goals timing for a given league, you can also display an overview of the same statistical table for some of the top European leagues on a single page.

Average minute each goal has been scored

This table shows for example when on average the first goal has been scored all matches combined during the season. In the example below the first goal has been scored on average on the 32nd minute. The first row also indicates that a first goal has been scored in 57 matches, representing 95% of played matches.

Early scoring analysis

Here we are looking at how many goals have been scored during the time segment 16 minutes until 90 minutes, depending on three scenarios:

• Matches where any number of goals (including none) have been scored during the first 15 minutes (basically all played matches)
• Matches where no goal has been scored during the first 15 minutes
• There has been at least one goal scored during the first 15 minutes

For each situation, the last two columns show how many goals were scored following those first 15 minutes, in total and on average per match.

Example

In addition to the Goal Timing page, for example the 2. Bundesliga goal timing section, which displays those goal times tables on one page, some of the tables can also be displayed individually, for example:

• Goals by 15-minute segment in the Bundesliga
• Goals by 10-minute segment in the Italian Serie A
• Featured leagues overview showing the goals per 15-minute segment for some of the top European leagues.