🔗 Share this article

A key narrative of the Premier League this campaign is the decline of goals scored in open play and the way teams are netting increasingly from set-pieces instead.

Looking at goal sources to the initial 11 matches last season, we see a drop of 39 goals in open-play and 26 more from team set-pieces and spot-kicks, leading to 13 less in total.

If we look at overall statistics, efforts on goal teams are taking have seen a remarkable 370 fewer in open play than this time previously.

Even with the notable jump in set-play finishes, records show a mere two extra attempts generated from these situations outside of spot-kicks, demonstrating how effective clubs have been at devising strategies to convert from dead-ball situations.

Goal Statistics Tell the Tale

The 301 goals notched in the first 110 fixtures up to now works out at 2.74 scores each match, if maintained for the whole season could be the least for half a decade, from five seasons ago (2.69).

However, only under 200 goals scored in open-play equates to 1.78 per fixture and is on course to be the smallest for 16 years, from 16 years ago (1.76 average).

That campaign also marks the only Premier League campaign to witness goals scored more often from set-plays excluding penalties than the current rate of 0.77 per game (0.79 per game).

Which Sides Are Most Responsible?

Regarding goals scored from open-play, Wolverhampton Wanderers have recorded the largest decrease, netting just four in 11 games, 10 fewer than at this stage last season.

Outside of Wolverhampton, the EPL's decline in open play goals is predominantly a trend among London clubs, with five of the London's seven clubs scoring at least five less scores from open-play than last season.

To be fair, this is primarily due to their scoring many goals at the start of the previous campaign instead of them having difficulty to score in open play this season.

Meanwhile Man City have experienced the largest rise, with all but one of their 23 scores this season arriving in open-play.

Dead-Ball Dominance

We've compared the promoted teams with the relegated sides they took the place of. Sunderland the Black Cats have netted an additional three scores in open play than the Saints achieved in their first 11 games en route to relegation last season.

Regarding scoring from dead-ball situations (excluding penalties), the Gunners and Chelsea have recorded the biggest increase, with each team compensating for the five less goals that they've produced in open play with identical figures from dead-ball situations.

Manchester United have netted two times more goals from set-pieces as they managed in matchday 11 the previous campaign ahead of Ruben Amorim took over, while the Black Cats additionally are better at scoring than the club they replaced they replaced.

City don't seem to have got the memo about scoring more from set-pieces, since they've recorded three fewer than last season, similar to Nottingham Forest, though this could be because of the change in style they've attempted to adopt.

League-Wide Trends

Six teams – Arsenal, Chelsea, Fulham, the Magpies, Tottenham and West Ham – represent this term's leading trend-followers by recording fewer goals from open play and increased from set-plays, while City are the unique club to buck the trend up to now by achieving the complete reverse.

It will be interesting to see if sides continue to rely so heavily on set-plays as the campaign progresses or if they rediscover their general attacking flair and begin netting more goals in open play too.