🔗 Share this article

One of the biggest stories of the EPL season so far has been the decline of goals scored in open-play scenarios and how teams are finding goals more from set-plays as an alternative.

When we compare goal sources to matchday 11 the prior season, we see a drop of 39 goals in open-play and 26 more from team set-pieces and penalties, giving us 13 fewer in total.

If we look at the bigger picture, shot attempts clubs are making show a staggering drop of 370 in open-play than at this stage last season.

And despite the notable jump in set-piece goals, records show a mere two extra shots produced from these situations excluding spot-kicks, showing the proficiency clubs have been at finding ways to score from dead-ball situations.

Scoring Rates Tell the Tale

Over 300 goals recorded in 110 games so far averages out at nearly 2.75 goals per fixture, if maintained for the whole season would be the least for since 2020-21, from five seasons ago (2.69).

However, only under 200 goals scored in open-play averages out 1.78 per fixture and is tracking to be the smallest for since 2009-10, from 16 years ago (1.76).

That campaign additionally represents the only Premier League campaign to witness goals scored more frequently from dead-balls without spot-kicks than this season's rate of 0.77 per fixture (0.79 average).

What Clubs Bear the Most Responsibility?

In terms of goals scored from open play, Wolves have seen the most significant drop, netting just four in 11 games, 10 fewer than this point the previous campaign.

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

To be fair, that's largely down to them scoring many scores at the start of the previous campaign rather than them having difficulty to find the net in open play the current term.

Conversely Man City have experienced the most significant jump, with all but one of their 23 goals so far arriving in open-play.

Dead-Ball Dominance

Looking at clubs that came up with the relegated sides that they superseded. Sunderland Sunderland have scored an additional three goals in open play than Southampton managed in their first 11 games on their way to the drop last season.

In terms of scoring from set-pieces (aside from spot-kicks), the Gunners and the Blues have seen the most significant jump, with each team replacing the reduction of five goals that they've netted in open-play with the same number from dead-ball situations.

United have netted twice as many goals from set-pieces as they managed in the 11 games the previous campaign ahead of their coach took over, while the Black Cats additionally have been more successful at scoring than the fellow red-and-whites that went down.

City seem unaware of the message about increasing scoring from set-pieces, as they've recorded three fewer than the previous campaign, as have Forest, though this could be because of the change in style they've attempted to adopt.

Overall Patterns

Six clubs – Arsenal, Chelsea, Fulham, Newcastle, Tottenham and West Ham – are this season's primary examples by netting less goals from open play and more from set-pieces, while Man City are the sole team to buck the trend up to now by achieving the complete reverse.

It will be fascinating to watch if teams persist to place such emphasis on set-plays as the campaign progresses or if they find again their general attacking flair and begin scoring more goals in open play as well.