🔗 Share this article

A major talking point of England's top flight this campaign has been the drop of scoring in open play and the way clubs are finding goals increasingly from dead-ball situations as an alternative.

Comparing scoring methods to the initial 11 matches the prior season, we note a drop of 39 goals in open play and 26 more from team set-pieces and spot-kicks, giving us 13 less in total.

If we look at the bigger picture, efforts on goal sides are producing show a staggering 370 fewer in open-play than this time last time out.

Regardless of the notable jump in dead-ball scores, there have actually been just two more shots created from these situations excluding spot-kicks, demonstrating how effective sides have been at finding ways to convert from dead-ball situations.

Goal Statistics Show a Story

The 301 goals notched in 110 games to date averages out at 2.74 scores per fixture, if this persists for all 38 games would be the smallest for five years, from five seasons ago (2.69 per game).

However, only 196 goals coming in open-play translates to 1.78 each match and is tracking to be the lowest for since 2009-10, from 16 years ago (1.76 per game).

The 2009-10 season also marks the only Premier League campaign to see scoring at a higher rate from dead-balls without spot-kicks than this campaign's frequency of 0.77 per game (0.79 average).

What Clubs Are Most Responsible?

In terms of scoring from open play, Wolves have experienced the largest decrease, scoring a mere four in 11 games, a reduction of 10 than this point last season.

Outside of Wolverhampton, England's top division's fall in goals from open play is largely a trend among London clubs, with half of the London's seven clubs netting a minimum of five goals fewer from open-play than last season.

Honestly, this is mainly because them scoring lots of goals at the start of last season rather than their genuine struggle to convert in open play this campaign.

At the same time Manchester City have recorded the most significant jump, with almost every one of their 23 goals so far originating in open-play.

Dead-Ball Dominance

We've compared the promoted teams with the teams that went down that they superseded. Sunderland the Black Cats have recorded three more goals in open-play than the Saints achieved in their opening 11 matches en route to demotion the previous campaign.

When it comes to scoring from set-pieces (not counting spot-kicks), the Gunners and the Blues have seen the biggest increase, with the two clubs replacing the five less goals that they've scored in open play with an equal amount from dead-ball situations.

Manchester United have netted double the number goals from set-pieces as they achieved in the first 11 matches the previous campaign before their coach assumed control, while the Black Cats once more have been better at converting than the club they replaced that went down.

Manchester City seem unaware of the message about scoring more from set-pieces, since they've netted three less than last season, like the Reds, although this could be because of the change in style they have tried to implement.

General Tendencies

Six sides – Arsenal, the Blues, Fulham, Newcastle, Spurs and the Hammers – represent the current campaign's leading trend-followers by scoring fewer scores from open-play and additional from set-plays, while Man City stand as the unique club to go against the grain so far by achieving the contrary.

It remains to be seen to watch if sides carry on to place such emphasis on set-plays as the season goes on or if they regain their all-round creativity and start netting increased totals in open-play also.