🔗 Share this article

A major talking point of England's top flight season so far has been the drop of scoring in open play and the way sides are finding goals increasingly from set-pieces as an alternative.

Comparing how goals have been scored to the initial 11 matches the prior season, we note a drop of 39 goals in open play and an increase of 26 from team set-pieces and penalties, resulting in 13 fewer altogether.

If we look at the broader view, the number of shots clubs are making have seen a remarkable 370 fewer in open-play than this time last time out.

And despite the big increase in dead-ball scores, records show just two more shots generated from them outside of penalties, showing how effective teams have been at discovering methods to convert from dead-ball chances.

Scoring Rates Tell a Story

Over 300 goals notched in the first 110 fixtures up to now averages out at 2.74 goals each match, if this persists for the entire campaign would be the lowest for half a decade, back in 2020-21 (2.69).

But just 196 scores coming in open play averages out 1.78 per game and is heading to be the smallest for 16 seasons, back in 2009-10 (1.76 average).

2009-10 also marks the sole English top-flight season to see goals scored at a higher rate from dead-balls without spot-kicks than this campaign's frequency of 0.77 per game (0.79).

What Clubs Account for This Change?

In terms of scoring from open-play, Wolverhampton Wanderers have recorded by far the biggest drop, netting just four in 11 games, 10 fewer than at this stage last season.

Apart from Wolverhampton, the EPL's drop in open play goals is very much a London phenomenon, with five out of the capital's seven sides scoring at least five goals fewer from open-play than last season.

In fairness, that's largely down to them scoring lots of scores at the beginning of last season rather than their genuine struggle to find the net in open-play this season.

Conversely Man City have seen the biggest increase, with all but one of their 23 goals this season arriving in open play.

Dead-Ball Dominance

Comparing newly promoted sides with those that were relegated they replaced. Sunderland Sunderland have scored an additional three scores in open-play than Southampton managed in matchday 11 on their way to relegation last season.

Regarding goals scored from dead-ball situations (aside from spot-kicks), Arsenal and the Blues have seen the biggest increase, with the two clubs compensating for the reduction of five goals that they've netted in open-play with identical figures from set-pieces.

Man United have scored two times more scores from set-plays as they managed in matchday 11 the previous campaign prior to Ruben Amorim took over, while the Black Cats again prove better at converting than the similar-colored team they replaced.

Manchester City seem unaware of the memo about scoring more from set-plays, as they've scored a reduction of three than the previous campaign, like the Reds, though this could be because of the tactical shift they've attempted to adopt.

General Tendencies

Six sides – the Gunners, the Blues, the Cottagers, the Magpies, Spurs and West Ham – have been the current campaign's top trend-setters by scoring fewer scores from open-play and more from set-plays, while Man City represent the only side to defy the pattern to date by performing the contrary.

It will be fascinating to watch if teams carry on to place such emphasis on set-pieces as the campaign progresses or if they regain their all-round creativity and commence converting additional scores in open play too.