Where Has the Excitement Gone? This Fall of the Goals from Open Play
One of the biggest stories of the EPL season so far is the drop of goals scored in open-play scenarios and how teams are netting more from set-pieces as an alternative.
Looking at how goals have been scored to the initial 11 matches last season, there have been 39 fewer goals in open play and an increase of 26 from set-plays and spot-kicks, leading to 13 fewer overall.
If we look at the broader view, the number of shots sides are producing reveal a remarkable drop of 370 in open-play than at this stage last time out.
Even with the significant rise in set-piece goals, there have actually been a mere two extra attempts generated from them excluding spot-kicks, indicating the efficiency sides have been at discovering methods to score from dead-ball chances.
Scoring Rates Reveal an Interesting Narrative
301 total goals notched in 110 matches to date calculates at 2.74 goals each match, which if it continued for the entire campaign could be the lowest for half a decade, from five seasons ago (2.69).
But just 196 scores scored in open play translates to 1.78 per game and is heading to be the least for 16 years, from 16 years ago (1.76).
2009-10 also marks the only Premier League season to experience goals scored more frequently from set-plays excluding penalties than this campaign's frequency of 0.77 per game (0.79 average).
Which Sides Are Most Responsible?
When it comes to scoring from open-play, Wolverhampton Wanderers have seen the largest drop, netting just four in their first 11 fixtures, 10 less than this point last season.
Apart from Wolves, the EPL's decline in goals from open play is very much a London thing, with five out of the capital's seven sides scoring a minimum of five less scores from open play than last season.
To be fair, that's largely down to their scoring lots of scores at the beginning of the previous campaign as opposed to them having difficulty to score in open play this campaign.
Meanwhile Man City have recorded the most significant jump, with almost every one of their 23 scores this season coming in open play.
Dead-Ball Dominance
Looking at the promoted teams with those that were relegated that they superseded. Sunderland Sunderland have recorded an additional three goals in open play than Southampton did in their first 11 games en route to demotion the previous campaign.
Regarding goals scored from dead-ball situations (excluding penalties), Arsenal 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 identical figures from dead-ball situations.
United have recorded two times more scores from set-pieces as they managed in the 11 games last season ahead of Ruben Amorim took over, while the Black Cats again prove better at converting than the similar-colored team they superseded.
Manchester City appear not to have received the memo about scoring more from set-plays, since they've scored three fewer than last season, similar to Forest, although this could be because of the tactical shift they're working to install.
General Tendencies
Six sides – Arsenal, Chelsea, Fulham, the Magpies, Tottenham and West Ham – have been this term's top trend-setters by recording fewer scores from open play and increased from set-plays, while City stand as the unique club to buck the trend so far by performing the complete reverse.
It remains to be seen to observe if sides continue to rely so heavily on set-plays as matches continue or if they rediscover their overall inventiveness and start converting increased totals in open-play as well.