FIFA 19 nerfs bicycle kicks in first patch since release

EA Sports promised that it wouldn’t release any major patches until FIFA 19 had been out for a while but now a month after release, the game received an update earlier this week on the PC version and is due to come to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One ones soon.

One of the biggest changes coming in this patch is bicycle kicks, scissor kicks and other jumping volleys are going to become less common in the game. Currently on console, it feels like in the opposing areas forwards are more likely to attempt acrobatic finishes than headers and succeed in doing so.

While Real Madrid did score two ridiculous bicycle kicks in the Champions League semi-finals and final, those goals are special because of how rare they are. Then there’s FIFA 19 where goals like this are happening: 

Double bicycle kick from r/FIFA

That clip shows two pin-point bicycle kicks on a single goal - a perfect volleyed cross into a precise finish - something that would be a likely Puskas Award winner if it happened in real life.

Along those lines, one of the biggest issues EA found in FIFA 19 was that in-game players were attempting jumping volleys without being commanded to do so. These are supposed to only happen when a player either has the flair trait or agility of 80 and higher.

So unfortunately, you probably won’t be able to score a scissor kick with players like Per Mertesacker from now on. If flashy goals are your thing, good luck saving up for the likes of Ronaldo and Neymar.

As well as making bicycle kicks happen less often, EA have also ensured that if players are lucky enough to pull of a spectacular volley, it’s a lot less likely to succeed than before.

In a rare look behind the scenes, EA have released in-engine stills of Gareth Bale taking bicycle kicks both before and after the patch. In both images, the Welshman has taken 100 shots but you can see that after this update the ball goes in a much larger spread of directions. Those shots are still entirely possible to execute but now the likelihood of them succeeding is more in line with real football matches.

At launch, hitting a acrobatic shot was almost guaranteed to go in. But now, if you want to recreate Bale's spectacular finish from Kiev, if you don’t get the power and positioning just right, you’ll be left dreaming of what could have been as your sensational effort drifts over the bar.