Studies show that there are benefits to the five substitutions.

LaLiga Sports Research, the sports investigation area of LaLiga, together with several Spanish universities, have published two new scientific studies in which the results support the benefits of the five substitutions rule. The studies, carried out using data from LaLiga Santander and LaLiga SmartBank clubs obtained through Mediacoach, agree that the option of five substitutions increases physical performance and is beneficial when it comes to preventing injuries, especially in terms of high intensity play.

The first study was carried out in collaboration with the CEU Cardenal Herrera University, the Rey Juan Carlos University and the Miguel Hernández University of Elche, and was published in the International Journal of Sports Medicine in January 2023. The results are convincing: the change in the number of substitutions rule increases performance at high intensity, even though coaches do not make the time of the first substitution any earlier. With the increase in changes, however, coaching staff are better at managing the physical load on players, allowing them to improve physical performance, as evidenced by the increase in sprints performed at over 21km/h per game. This increase in physical intensity, with more sprints per game, helps to further enhance the visual and physical spectacle of top-level football played in LaLiga competitions.

In the study, data was collected from 17 LaLiga teams through Mediacoach, the powerful video analysis tool created in-house, which collects more than 3,500,000 pieces of data each matchday from the 19 cameras installed in the stadiums, and then processes the data before making it available to the clubs, who have access to these advanced metrics that collect and analyse everything that happens on the pitch. This data is being used for scientific research in collaboration with academic institutions since the creation of the Sports Research and Mediacoach Department, within LaLiga's Competitions Department.

This research complements another developed with the collaboration of INEF - Technical University of Madrid, published in the scientific journal Sports, which also shows that five substitutions can increase individual and collective physical performance, facilitating a greater number of rotations with a double benefit: players burdened with more minutes can rest more, and players with low participation have more opportunities to play. Furthermore, the research corroborates the findings of a departmental publication from last season: the five-substitution rule helps with injury prevention. This study used Mediacoach data from all 22 LaLiga SmartBank teams and 1,077 player performance reports, and analysed performance metrics for the first half, second half, and the match as a whole.

"These studies allow us to scientifically evaluate tactical innovations, their actual effects, and to properly analyse them with the support of evidence-based results. We also believe that the contribution LaLiga can make to the advancement of scientific knowledge in sport is very positive, due to the quality of the high performance data we collect in each match and the fact that they are comparable as they come from the same source, given that all 42 clubs have the same tool, something that has helped to democratise the competition over the years,” states Roberto López de Campo, LaLiga Sports Research and Mediacoach Department Coordinator.

“The work we do in the area also helps clubs to make informed decisions and to better manage physical loads, which in turn benefits the spectacle and excitement of the competition. LaLiga has a very good reputation for technical football, and the academic work over the years has shown us that it is also at the top in terms of physical demand and performance, especially in terms of speed and high intensity, where it is achieving the best results among the major European leagues,” says Ricardo Resta, Director of the Mediacoach Department at LaLiga.

Both studies also support the conclusions of "LaLiga Lockdown: Conditioning Strategy and Adaptation to In-Game Regulations during COVID-19 Pandemic Prevented an Increase in Injury Incidence", another study carried out during the pandemic lockdown in conjunction with national and international universities, and the analysis and performance departments of FC Barcelona, RCD Espanyol de Barcelona, Levante UD, Athletic Club, CA Osasuna, D. Alavés, SD Eibar, Getafe CF, Leganés CD and Sevilla FC. It studied the prevalence of injuries in the pre and post-covid period, and showed that the five-substitution rule had most likely contributed directly to the fact that the incidence of injury did not increase.