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Why there have been just SEVEN free kick goals in the Premier League this season, and what needs to be done to save this dying art from disappearing completely - THE SHARPE END

Reece James set the ball off on its arc, low beyond the far post, and then watched it bend back towards goal and sneak inside the bottom corner.

Off he ran in celebration. A beautiful finish, a rescued for point for Chelsea against Bournemouth but, above all, a collector’s item, something rarely seen in the Premier League these days: a goal scored direct from a free-kick.

James’s effort was only the seventh in the top flight this season. At this stage last term, we had seen just four. There were only 11 all season, the lowest in a Premier League campaign since 1997-98.