🔗 Share this article

One of the biggest stories of the Premier League season so far has been the reduction of goals scored in open-play scenarios and how clubs have been scoring more from dead-ball situations as an alternative.

When we compare scoring methods to matchday 11 last season, we note 39 fewer goals in open play and 26 more from team set-pieces and spot-kicks, leading to 13 fewer altogether.

Considering overall statistics, the number of shots clubs are making reveal an incredible drop of 370 in open-play than at this stage last time out.

And despite the significant rise in dead-ball scores, there have actually been a mere two extra shots created from them outside of spot-kicks, demonstrating how effective teams have been at discovering methods to score from dead-ball chances.

Scoring Rates Reveal a Story

301 total goals scored in the first 110 fixtures so far works out at nearly 2.75 goals each match, if this persists for the whole season could be the smallest for five years, from five seasons ago (2.69).

However, only 196 goals scored in open play equates to 1.78 per game and is heading to be the smallest for since 2009-10, since 2009-10 (1.76 per game).

That campaign additionally represents the sole English top-flight campaign to see scoring at a higher rate from non-penalty set-pieces than this season's rate of 0.77 per fixture (0.79 average).

Which Teams Bear the Most Responsibility?

Regarding goals scored from open play, Wolves have recorded by far the biggest decrease, netting just four in 11 games, 10 fewer than this point the previous campaign.

Excluding Wolverhampton, the Premier League's drop in open-play scoring is predominantly a London thing, with half of the capital's seven sides netting five or more less scores from open-play than the previous year.

To be fair, that's largely down to them scoring lots of goals at the beginning of the previous campaign as opposed to their genuine struggle to convert in open play this season.

At the same time City have recorded the most significant jump, with all but one of their 23 goals this season originating in open play.

Set-Play Proficiency

We've compared newly promoted sides with the teams that went down that they superseded. Sunderland the Black Cats have scored three more scores in open play than Southampton did in matchday 11 leading to the drop last season.

Regarding goals scored from dead-ball situations (aside from spot-kicks), Arsenal and the Blues have recorded the biggest increase, with the two clubs replacing the five less goals that they've scored in open play with the same number from dead-ball situations.

Man United have scored two times more goals from set-pieces as they did in the first 11 matches the previous campaign prior to their coach assumed control, while the Black Cats once more are better at converting than the fellow red-and-whites they superseded.

City appear not to have received the trend about netting additional goals from set-plays, as they've netted three fewer than the previous campaign, like the Reds, though this may result from the altered approach they're working to install.

Overall Patterns

Six clubs – the Gunners, Chelsea, the Cottagers, Newcastle, Tottenham and West Ham – are this term's top trend-setters by netting less goals from open play and additional from set-plays, while Manchester City represent the unique club to buck the trend up to now by achieving the complete reverse.

It remains to be seen to watch if sides continue to depend greatly on set-pieces as the campaign progresses or if they rediscover their general attacking flair and start netting increased totals in open-play also.