🔗 Share this article

One of the biggest stories of the EPL this campaign is the decline of goals scored in open play and the way clubs are finding goals more from set-pieces instead.

Comparing how goals have been scored to the initial 11 matches the prior season, we see a drop of 39 goals in open-play and an increase of 26 from set-plays and spot-kicks, leading to 13 fewer overall.

Examining the broader view, efforts on goal sides are producing reveal a staggering drop of 370 in open play than this time last season.

Regardless of the big increase in dead-ball scores, we've actually seen only two additional shots produced from these situations excluding spot-kicks, indicating the proficiency clubs are at devising strategies to score from set-pieces.

Goal Statistics Show the Tale

Over 300 goals notched in the first 110 fixtures so far calculates at 2.74 scores per fixture, which if it continued for all 38 games would be the smallest for five years, back in 2020-21 (2.69 average).

However, only under 200 goals coming in open-play equates to 1.78 each match and is on course to be the lowest for 16 years, since 2009-10 (1.76 per game).

2009-10 is also the unique EPL season to experience goals scored more frequently from dead-balls without spot-kicks than the current rate of 0.77 each match (0.79 per game).

What Clubs Are Most Responsible?

In terms of goals scored from open play, Wolverhampton Wanderers have experienced the most significant drop, registering just four in 11 games, 10 less than at this stage the previous campaign.

Apart from Wolverhampton, the Premier League's drop in open-play scoring is very much a London thing, with five of the city's seven teams scoring a minimum of five less scores from open play than last season.

Honestly, that's largely down to them netting many goals at the beginning of last season instead of their genuine struggle to score in open-play this campaign.

Meanwhile City have seen the most significant jump, with nearly all of the 23 they've scored so far coming in open-play.

Dead-Ball Dominance

We've compared newly promoted sides with the teams that went down that they superseded. Play-off winners the Black Cats have scored an additional three scores in open-play than Southampton managed in their opening 11 matches en route to demotion last season.

In terms of scoring from set-plays (aside from spot-kicks), the Gunners and Chelsea have seen the largest rise, with both sides replacing the reduction of five goals that they've scored in open play with identical figures from set-pieces.

Manchester United have netted double the number goals from set-pieces as they achieved in matchday 11 the previous campaign before the manager assumed control, while the Black Cats once more have been more successful at netting than the fellow red-and-whites they replaced.

Man City seem unaware of the message about increasing scoring from set-pieces, as they've recorded three fewer than last season, like Forest, although this may result from the change in style they have tried to implement.

League-Wide Trends

Six teams – Arsenal, the Blues, Fulham, the Magpies, Spurs and the Hammers – have been this season's top trend-setters by netting less goals from open play and additional from set-pieces, while City represent the unique club to defy the pattern up to now by doing the exact opposite.

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