🔗 Share this article

A key narrative of England's top flight season so far concerns the drop of goals scored in open-play scenarios and how teams are netting increasingly from dead-ball situations instead.

Comparing scoring methods to matchday 11 the prior season, we see a drop of 39 scored in open-play and 26 more from team set-pieces and penalties, giving us 13 fewer overall.

Examining the bigger picture, shot attempts teams are taking reveal a remarkable 370 fewer in open-play than this time last time out.

Regardless of the big increase in dead-ball scores, records show a mere two extra shots generated from these situations outside of penalties, showing the efficiency clubs have been at finding ways to net from set-pieces.

Goal Statistics Tell an Interesting Narrative

Over 300 goals scored in 110 games to date calculates at nearly 2.75 goals per game, which if it continued for the whole season could be the lowest for since 2020-21, since 2020-21 (2.69 average).

Yet merely 196 goals scored in open-play averages out 1.78 per fixture and is heading to be the least for 16 years, since 2009-10 (1.76 average).

That campaign also marks the unique EPL season to experience goals scored at a higher rate from set-plays excluding penalties than this campaign's frequency of 0.77 per game (0.79).

What Clubs Are Most Responsible?

In terms of scoring from open-play, Wolverhampton Wanderers have seen the largest drop, netting just four in their first 11 fixtures, a reduction of 10 than at this stage the previous campaign.

Outside of Wolverhampton, the EPL's decline in goals from open play is largely a London phenomenon, with half of the city's seven teams netting a minimum of five less scores from open play than the prior season.

Honestly, this is primarily due to them scoring many goals at the early stages of last season as opposed to their genuine struggle to find the net in open-play the current term.

At the same time City have seen the biggest increase, with almost every one of their 23 scores this season coming in open play.

Set-Play Proficiency

Looking at clubs that came up with the relegated sides they took the place of. Play-off winners the Black Cats have recorded three extra goals in open-play than Southampton achieved in their opening 11 matches leading to demotion last season.

Regarding scoring from dead-ball situations (aside from penalties), Arsenal and Chelsea have experienced the most significant jump, with each team replacing the reduction of five goals that they've scored in open play with identical figures from dead-ball situations.

Manchester United have scored two times more scores from set-pieces as they achieved in matchday 11 the previous campaign prior to their coach assumed control, while the Black Cats once more are more effective at converting than the club they replaced that went down.

City don't seem to have got the memo about netting additional goals from set-pieces, as they've recorded three fewer than last season, similar to Nottingham Forest, even if this could be because of the altered approach they have tried to implement.

League-Wide Trends

Six teams – Arsenal, Chelsea, Fulham, Newcastle, Tottenham and West Ham – are the current campaign's leading trend-followers by netting less scores from open-play and increased from set-pieces, while City stand as the unique club to go against the grain up to now by doing the exact opposite.

It will be interesting to watch if sides persist to depend greatly on set-plays as matches continue or if they find again their general attacking flair and start scoring increased totals in open-play as well.