What exactly is a key pass?

One that unlocks a defence

So it doesn't count second assists? And anytime a player takes a longshot, regardless of how close it is, a key pass was made?

If the long shot results in a chance (another player taking a shot) then I think its a key pass.

comment by Definitely Not Jay. (U16498)
posted 6 minutes ago
One that unlocks a defence


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I knew I could rely on someone intelligent to turn up and appreciate my masterful wit <takesabow>

But you still get an assist is you make a 5 yard sideways ball to a midfielder and scored with a 30 yard shot so why should it not coun't if it's only a key pass stat?

So a 'key pass' is the same as 'chances created'? I always assumed they were the passes that led directly to a shot on goal.

Yay for ambiguous terms that the commentators & pundits can throw in when they're lacking a genuine opinion or analysis!

Just wondering because I was looking at the statistics from last night and apparently Liverpool played 11 key passes last night compared to Madrid's 10, which didn't seem to make sense to me
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There you go, its a completely subjective stat for the pundits to throw around to make the team they support seem better compared to others.

comment by manutd1982 (U6633)

posted 2 hours, 28 minutes ago

But you still get an assist is you make a 5 yard sideways ball to a midfielder and scored with a 30 yard shot so why should it not coun't if it's only a key pass stat?
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My thoughts were that 30 yard shots rarely go in so the assist rarely happens, but they still occur at least 4-5 times a game minimum, so some players must be racking up key passes for those every game

It's what Ozil does for Giroud, who then puts a key pass into row Z.

Real actually scored twice against the run of play

so the stats night actually make sense