🔗 Share this article

A key narrative of the EPL season so far has been the reduction of goals scored in open play and how clubs are finding goals more from dead-ball situations as an alternative.

Looking at how goals have been scored to the initial 11 matches last season, we see 39 fewer goals in open play and 26 more from set-plays and penalties, giving us 13 fewer in total.

If we look at the broader view, the number of shots clubs are making reveal an incredible drop of 370 in open play than this time last time out.

Regardless of the notable jump in set-play finishes, records show a mere two extra attempts generated from them outside of penalties, showing the efficiency teams have been at devising strategies to net from dead-ball situations.

Scoring Rates Reveal a Story

301 total goals notched in 110 games to date works out at 2.74 goals per fixture, which if it continued for all 38 games could be the least for five years, from five seasons ago (2.69).

But just under 200 goals coming in open play averages out 1.78 per game and is tracking to be the lowest for 16 seasons, from 16 years ago (1.76 average).

The 2009-10 season is also the only Premier League season to experience goals scored more often from non-penalty set-pieces than this season's rate of 0.77 per game (0.79).

Which Sides Account for This Change?

When it comes to scoring from open-play, Wolves have seen the largest decline, registering a mere four in 11 games, a reduction of 10 than at this stage last season.

Excluding Wolves, England's top division's fall in open-play scoring is predominantly a London phenomenon, with five out of the capital's seven sides netting at least five goals fewer from open-play than last season.

Honestly, this is primarily due to them netting lots of goals at the start of the previous campaign instead of them having difficulty to find the net in open-play this campaign.

At the same time Man City have seen the biggest increase, with almost every one of their 23 goals to date originating in open-play.

Set-Play Proficiency

Comparing newly promoted sides with the relegated sides they replaced. Play-off winners the Black Cats have scored three extra goals in open-play than the Saints achieved in their first 11 games on their way to the drop last season.

In terms of goals scored from set-plays (excluding penalties), the Gunners and the Blues have recorded the largest rise, with each team replacing the five fewer scores that they've produced in open play with the same number from dead-ball chances.

Man United have netted twice as many scores from set-plays as they achieved in the 11 games the previous campaign ahead of Ruben Amorim took charge, while the Black Cats additionally have been more effective at converting than the similar-colored team that went down.

Man City don't seem to have got the trend about scoring more from set-pieces, since they've recorded three fewer than last season, as have the Reds, although that might be down to the altered approach they have tried to implement.

General Tendencies

Six clubs – the Gunners, Chelsea, the Cottagers, the Magpies, Tottenham and the Hammers – represent this season's primary examples by scoring fewer goals from open play and increased from set-pieces, while City stand as the unique club to buck the trend so far by achieving the complete reverse.

It will be fascinating to watch if teams persist to rely so heavily on set-pieces as the campaign progresses or if they rediscover their all-round creativity and commence converting additional scores in open-play as well.