Goalless draws on the rise in the Premier League – is the Premier League getting boring?

The general trend since 2018 has been towards lower draws. But after bottoming out in the Premier League at 11 points two seasons ago, they are back in the promotion.

Hart, the former number one in England, who has kept 127 clean sheets in 340 Premier League matches, noticed a tactical shift that may explain this.

“I think a pragmatic approach is more appropriate now, and it’s inevitable,” Hart said.

“It’s the tournaments you’re talking about, and for years – I think it’s been defined by the teams coming into the Premier League – teams have been willing to go toe-to-toe and compete, and if they lose, so be it.”

“But financially, it’s very risky to do that. We can’t really afford you to go out there and have a good opportunity – it doesn’t work that way anymore,” the people in charge say. “We need to be safer and build the foundations.”

“It’s worked well in the league. Before, you were seen as a dinosaur if you were willing to play that way. But you’ve seen bigger, more dominant teams adopt it.”

“The physicality and the way you can make changes in the game…there are a lot fewer mistakes and people coming out of their lines. They also back themselves to play 95 minutes rather than finishing the game.”