A major talking point of the EPL season so far is the decline of goals scored in open play and how clubs have been scoring increasingly from set-plays instead.
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, leading to 13 less in total.
If we look at overall statistics, efforts on goal clubs are making have seen a staggering 370 fewer in open-play than this time previously.
Regardless of the big increase in set-piece goals, we've actually seen a mere two extra shots created from them excluding spot-kicks, indicating the efficiency teams have been at devising strategies to score from dead-ball chances.
Scoring Rates Tell a Story
Over 300 goals scored in 110 games so far works out at nearly 2.75 goals each match, if this persists for the entire campaign would be the smallest for since 2020-21, back in 2020-21 (2.69).
But just under 200 goals scored in open-play averages out 1.78 each match and is tracking to be the smallest for since 2009-10, from 16 years ago (1.76 per game).
That campaign is also the sole English top-flight campaign to see goals scored more often from set-plays excluding penalties than the current rate of 0.77 each match (0.79 per game).
Which Teams Bear the Most Responsibility?
Regarding goals scored from open play, Wolverhampton Wanderers have experienced the most significant drop, scoring a mere four in 11 games, 10 less than this point last season.
Outside of Wolverhampton, the Premier League's decline in open play goals is predominantly a trend among London clubs, with half of the city's seven teams netting a minimum of five goals fewer from open play than the previous year.
Honestly, this is mainly because them scoring lots of scores at the start of last season as opposed to their genuine struggle to score in open-play this season.
Conversely Manchester City have seen the biggest increase, with nearly all of the 23 they've scored to date arriving in open play.
Dead-Ball Dominance
Looking at newly promoted sides with the relegated sides that they superseded. Play-off winners Sunderland have netted three extra goals in open-play than the Saints achieved in matchday 11 on their way to relegation last season.
When it comes to scoring from dead-ball situations (not counting spot-kicks), Arsenal and the Blues have recorded the largest rise, with both sides compensating for the five fewer goals that they've netted in open-play with the same number from set-pieces.
Manchester United have scored two times more goals from set-plays as they did in matchday 11 last season prior to their coach took over, while the Black Cats additionally prove more effective at netting than the club they replaced they replaced.
City seem unaware of the trend about increasing scoring from set-pieces, since they've netted three less than last season, like Nottingham Forest, though that might be down to the altered approach they're working to install.
League-Wide Trends
Six teams – the Gunners, Chelsea, Fulham, Newcastle, Tottenham and West Ham – represent the current campaign's top trend-setters by scoring fewer scores from open play and more from set-plays, while Manchester City stand as the only side to buck the trend so far by performing the complete reverse.
It will be fascinating to watch if clubs continue to place such emphasis on set-pieces as matches continue or if they regain their overall inventiveness and commence netting increased totals in open-play too.
