Revealed: The reasons behind the Premier League’s new rugby kick-off trend used by PSG… and now Newcastle and Crystal Palace

‘I think Vitinha thought he was playing the wrong sport there because that was more of a rugby union restart.’

Those were bewildered mutterings from the television commentator during the UEFA Super Cup final as the Paris Saint-Germain midfielder booted the second half kick-off straight towards the corner flag and out for a Tottenham goal-kick.

‘Not one we’ve seen before,’ remarked the co-commentator alongside him. ‘Not one you’ll see again, I wouldn’t have thought.’

As it happened, we only had to wait another three days to see it again. I was at Villa Park for Newcastle’s opening Premier League game against Aston Villa on Saturday lunchtime and watched as Sandro Tonali arrowed his side’s first kick of the new season more than 60 yards straight out for a throw-in near the opposition corner flag.

A day later, Crystal Palace would do something similar to start the second half against Chelsea. Eberechi Eze knocked a short pass to midfielder Adam Wharton who hooked it first time with his left foot into touch halfway down the touchline.

That is where Vitinha’s had gone awry against Spurs. He’d overcooked it and put it behind for a goal kick. But anyone who had watched PSG ahead the Super Cup final, would have seen it before.

Sandro Tonali aimed Newcastle’s first kick of the new season deep into the Aston Villa half

Tonali’s rugby style kick off went out for an Aston Villa throw-in close to their corner flag

Newcastle immediately pressed high in a bid to win possession back near host’s goal

Vitinha did the same at the start of the Champions League final against Inter Milan but this time conceded a throw-in instead of a goal-kick. He began the second half of their Club World Cup final against Chelsea in the same fashion.

PSG boss Luis Enrique had, in fact, copied the tactic from fellow Ligue 1 side Lyon – all with a view of getting off to a fast start and putting your opponents immediately under pressure. At the start of the Spaniard’s tenure, they struggled for early goals and this was a way to fix it – and now their secret weapon has reached Premier League shores.

Back in the old days, lumping it forward from the kick off was seen as a way of getting the ball as far away from your own goal as possible. Keep them at arm’s length, whatever the cost. Now, it is about getting it as close to the opposition one in double-quick time.

It’s a trend we have seen growing in recent seasons as clubs, even in an era of a Pep Guardiola-inspired possession obsession, have abandoned short passing moves from kick-off in favour of getting it forward aided by the 2016 rule change that allowed the ball to travel backwards.

Daily Mail Sport analysed every kick-off taken over the opening round of Premier League fixtures, both at the starts of each half and after every goal, and found that 31 of the 44, or 70 per cent, went long within the first two passes. Arsenal did with theirs, so did Manchester City, so did Tottenham, so did Manchester United.

Even two seasons ago, only 55 per cent of kick-off routines ended with a long pass into the final third and only 40 per cent within the first few passes.

Last weekend, only four teams went short with all their kick-offs – Aston Villa, Chelsea, Leeds and Wolves – and three of them only had one to take all game.

For all the others, it was often a pass back to the goalkeeper like Jordan Pickford, David Raya and Caoimhin Kelleher, or centre-backs like Virgil van Dijk and Marcos Senesi, and then a raking ball out wide to a winger or marauding full-back to try to win the flick on and cause some havoc. For many, it’s a tactical ploy and not just a hit and hope.

Adam Wharton hooked the ball out of play as Crystal Palace started the second half at Chelsea

Teams are hoping to getting immediately on the attack by pinning their opponents in their half 

The tactical plan comes straight from the rugby playbook where the best players, like Owen Farrell, are tasked with guiding missile’s into the corner and gaining territory

PSG have adopted the tactic under Luis Enrique, who copied the approach from Lyon

It’s one Brentford used to such great effect last season on their way to scoring in the opening 40 seconds three matches in a row, including instant goals against Manchester City and Tottenham. Mikkel Damsgaard passed it back to goalkeeper Mark Flekken who launched it towards the head of 6ft 6in centre-back Kristoffer Ajer who had ventured forward into the channel.

Now the next stage of the tactical evolution has arrived, taken straight out of the rugby handbook.

There was understood to be some amusement among the Newcastle backroom team when the Villa crowd jeered and laughed when Tonali rifled his ball straight out of play, only for their chuckles to subdue when they realised it was clearly planned.

Tonali was selected as the punter-in-chief because of his superb range of long passing, Newcastle’s best at guiding a missile into the corner, like Owen Farrell finding touch.

The principles are similar, too, as it gains crucial territory but also more than that. With Premier League teams better at pressing than ever before, giving your opponent a throw-in close to their own corner flag allows you to swarm all over them and if you win the ball back you are where you want to be just a few passes from goal.

If you panic them into hoofing it clear, you’ll likely keep possession and be near the halfway line already.

‘It wasn’t just about territory,’ one insider told Daily Mail Sport. ‘We analyse everything and wanted to press them from that location and put them under pressure. We regained directly from their throw.’

Matty Cash launched a long throw up the line only for Kieran Trippier to win the first header and, eventually, Tino Livramento drew a foul from John McGinn.

Newcastle’s pressing caused Villa no end of problems with only Chelsea winning possession in the final third more often than the Magpies (8). Their rugby-style kick-off routine perhaps a sign of things to come after the club appointed Martin Mark as their set-piece coach in the summer.

The following afternoon, Palace’s attempt at doing the same in the second half when Wharton thumped his restart into touch. Palace players swarmed Marc Cucurella’s options with the ball in his hand and Chelsea only got out of trouble when Moises Caicedo took a touch then hoicked a risky blind pass all the way to the other touchline.

Neither Newcastle nor Palace carved out a chance from their rugby-style restarts. But in a Premier League were tactics continue to evolve and set-piece coaches are forever hunting for the next edge, it’s probably safe to say of this new trend: ‘one you’ll see again, you would have thought.’