REVEALED: The longest games in English football so far this season, with one high-flying League One team part of four of the five lengthiest – but Chelsea’s epic 111-minute clash with Tottenham only ranks in eighth

The longest games to have taken place in England’s top four tiers so far this season have been revealed.

In an attempt to crackdown on time-wasting during matches, referees were given new directives ahead of the campaign.

This is similar to what happened at the World Cup in Qatar last year and as a result, injury time has regularly racked up into double figures in both halves, with this all done in an attempt to increase the amount of time the ball is in play for.

And now, in new data released by Opta and published in The Athletic encompassing the Premier League, Championship, League One and League Two, the eight longest games have been revealed.

Remarkably, Stevenage – who are flying high in fifth place in League One after winning promotion last season – have been involved in four of the five lengthiest matches. 

In an attempt to crackdown on time-wasting, injury time has regularly gone into double figures

Their clashes against Wycombe Wanderers, Wigan Athletic, Shrewsbury Town and Northampton Town have all lasted for longer than 112 minutes.

In fact, Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Wycombe – which came thanks to Jamie Reid’s goal in the 14th-minute of added time at the end of the first half – went on for 132 minutes and 24 seconds after serious injuries to Chairboys stars Luke Leahy and Brandon Hanlan. 

They have also won the other three clashes which have lasted for a seemingly endless amount of time, with their 118 minute and 32 second match against Wigan seeing the Latics collect 10 yellow cards and one red card, while the Boro picked up three cautions and a sending off. 

The only game to break up Stevenage’s dominance in the longest games stakes was Fulham’s 3-1 win over Sheffield United in October.

The clash at Craven Cottage lasted 113 minutes and 54 seconds after Blades defender Chris Basham suffered a horrific ankle injury which caused a 12-minute stoppage. 

This means referees have overseen several clashes that have lasted upwards of 100 minutes

League One side Stevenage (red kit) have been involved in four of the five lengthiest games

Aston Villa’s 3-1 victory against Crystal Palace in September ranked sixth after 112 minutes and two seconds of action, while Accrington Stanley’s match with Mansfield Town in League Two took 111 minutes and 34 seconds, coming in at seventh.

This meant that Tottenham’s pulsating encounter with Chelsea last week, which saw five goals, the same number disallowed, two red cards and several VAR delays, the game was only the eighth lengthiest of the campaign, after 111 minutes and 15 seconds of action.

Perhaps surprisingly, despite the extremely high amounts of time added on, the time the ball was in play has still tended to be less than half the total length of the match. 

For example, Stevenage’s four games on the list have a combined 475 minutes and 48 seconds of action but the ball has been in play for just 199 minutes and 27 seconds. This is 41.9 per cent of the allotted time.