Second halves in Serie A tend to have more goals than first halves because as the game progresses, teams become more tired, the trailing team pushes further forward, and substitutes are more likely to make a difference. A study across Serie A, Premier League, La Liga, and Ligue 1 over three seasons (2008/09 to 2010/11) showed that 55.1% of goals came in the second half, with the final 15 minutes being the period with the most goals, accounting for 20.2%.
Lega Serie A statistics released ahead of the final round of the 2025/26 season show that this trend remains intact: Inter scored 16 goals between the 76th and 90th minutes, and Milan gained the most points in the second half compared to the halftime score. Below are four reasons, ranked in order of their impact.
The number of goals increased as the match progressed.
A study by Alberti, Iaia, and colleagues, published in the journal Sport Sciences for Health in 2013, divided the match into six 15-minute intervals. The rate of goals increased almost steadily from the beginning to the end of the interval, and the difference between the two halves was statistically significant.
| period of time | Goal ratio |
| Minutes 0–15 | 13,7% |
| Minutes 15–30 | 15,1% |
| Minutes 30–45 | 16,2% |
| Minutes 45–60 | 17,7% |
| Minutes 60–75 | 17,2% |
| Minutes 75–90 | 20,2% |
The data combines four leagues, including Serie A, from the 2008/09 to 2010/11 seasons. Combined, the first half accounts for 44.9%, while the second half accounts for 55.1%. This means that for every 100 goals scored, the second half accounts for approximately 10 more than the first. In the current Serie A, every late goal is even more valuable: the 2025/26 season is expected to have 922 goals in 380 matches, averaging 2.43 goals per game, down from 2.56 in the 2024/25 season. In a low-scoring league, a goal in the 80th minute is often the deciding goal of the match.
The difference between the two halves is also where match statistics are most useful. When looking at match statistics and how the market assesses the likelihood of a goal in the second half, many people refer to them Kèo Nhà Cái To see how the odds for the first half and the entire match are set differently, and then compare it to each team’s habit of scoring late goals.
Reason number one: the score forces the trailing team to take risks.
The study’s authors emphasize that fatigue plays a role but doesn’t explain everything. The bigger factors are the score and the remaining time. A team losing at the 70th minute has no choice but to push forward, accepting the loss of space behind them. A team leading drops deep and waits for counter-attacks. Both scenarios increase the number of clear-cut chances for both sides.
In Serie A, this is even more evident as many teams start matches quite cautiously. Milan in the 2025/26 season is a prime example: they gained an additional 17 points in the second half compared to the halftime score, the highest in the league. Conversely, Verona only scored 10 goals in the second half, the fewest in the league, meaning they had almost no reaction after the break.
Second reason: decreased physical fitness creates an opening.
After 60 minutes, the players’ high-intensity runs decrease, the distance between the lines widens, and high-pressure pressing becomes less frequent. A Serie A defense that is very well-organized at the 20th minute will struggle to maintain its position at the 80th minute. The 75-90 minute period accounts for 20.2% of goals, almost one and a half times more than the first 15 minutes at 13.7%, which is the clearest indication of this.
The 2025/26 statistics, up to the final round, also match: Inter scored 16 goals between the 76th and 90th minutes, the most in the league, while Genoa, Milan, and Como each scored 10 goals in the same period. Inter were the highest-scoring team of the season with 89 goals, and nearly a fifth of those came in the final 15 minutes of regular time. You can see more team performance and rankings on the Serie A fixtures and standings page.
Third reason: the replacement makes a difference.
Since 2022, the IFAB has included the five substitution rule in the official regulations, and Serie A has fully implemented it. A coach can now make nearly half a team substitution in the second half, bringing in fit attacking players to face defenders who have already played 70 minutes.
In the 2025/26 season, Inter scored 13 goals from substitutes, Juventus 11, and Atalanta and Como 10 each. Pisa striker Tijjani Noslin scored 4 goals coming off the bench, the most among substitutes. Conversely, Udinese only had 2 goals from substitutes, the fewest in the league. The difference in squad depth is most evident in the final 30 minutes.
Fourth reason: the second half is longer thanks to added time.
According to the Laws of Football, the referee adds time lost due to substitutions, injuries, VAR checks, goal celebrations, and time-wasting. Most of these events occur in the second half: the majority of substitutions take place after halftime, the leading team wastes more time, and each goal leads to more celebratory time. Therefore, the second half usually has more added time than the first. If you want to understand how added time is calculated in football, it’s the “extra time” that many late goals fall into.
In the 2025/26 season, Lazio scored 8 goals in second-half injury time, the most in Serie A, while Verona and Pisa each conceded 7 goals during this period. These goals would have been completely nonexistent if the match had stopped at the 90th minute.
This applies when watching a Serie A match.
A 0-0 draw after 45 minutes in Serie A doesn’t necessarily mean a low-scoring game. For teams with strong benches like Inter or Juventus, the second half is often when the game truly opens up. Before kick-off, the website Kèo Nhà Cái 5 It’s a place to find match statistics and how the market rates goals in each half, worth comparing with late-game goal statistics for each team.
The second half saw more goals due to a combination of four factors: the lead forcing the trailing team to take risks, decreased stamina creating space, substitutions creating a difference, and added time extending the game. As a result, approximately 55% of the goals came after halftime, with the final 15 minutes being the most exciting.