A goal kick used to require the ball to leave the penalty area before anyone could touch it. Removing that requirement altered the mathematics of the restart and changed how teams begin possession.
The old rule handed the pressing team an advantage
Under the previous law, a defender receiving a short goal kick had to be positioned outside the area, which put him within reach of a pressing forward standing just beyond the line.
Pressing teams could push right up to the edge of the box and time their approach to arrive as the ball did, making the short option genuinely dangerous.
Most teams therefore went long by default, and possession from a goal kick was closer to a fifty-fifty aerial contest than a controlled restart.
Receiving inside the area created separation
Once defenders could stand inside the box, they gained several metres of distance from opponents who must remain outside until the ball is played.
That separation is enough for a first touch and a look up, which converts the restart from a contested duel into a genuine possession with time on it.
The change is small in distance and large in effect, because build-up under pressure is decided by fractions of a second rather than by metres of space.
Presses moved higher in response
Defending teams answered by pushing their whole block towards the penalty area, marking the receiving defenders individually and leaving the goalkeeper as the free man.
That arrangement invites the keeper to play, which is why goalkeeper passing ability became a selection criterion rather than a bonus.
It also stretches the pressing team badly, since a defence pushed that high leaves a large area behind it for a single accurate long pass to exploit.
The long goal kick did not disappear
Against a man-oriented high press, the long kick becomes more attractive rather than less, because the opposition defence is high and the aerial contest happens in their half.
Teams now treat the choice as situational, using the short restart to draw the press up and the long one to punish it once it has committed.
The presence of both options is what makes either effective. A team known to only play short can be pressed without any risk at all.
The restart became a rehearsed phase
Because the goal kick now offers real control, teams design starting positions for it in the way they design corners, with defined roles and movements.
Typical arrangements split the centre-backs wide of the posts, position the holding midfielder centrally, and hold the full-backs high to stretch the pressing line horizontally.
The goal kick has consequently shifted from a moment of ceding possession to one of the more heavily coached situations in the game.