Where Has the Excitement Gone? The Drop of Open-Play Goals from Open Play
A major talking point of England's top flight this campaign is the reduction of scoring in open play and the way clubs are finding goals more from set-pieces as an alternative.
Looking at how goals have been scored to the first 11 games last season, we see 39 fewer goals in open play and 26 more from team set-pieces and spot-kicks, leading to 13 less altogether.
If we look at the bigger picture, the number of shots teams are taking show a staggering drop of 370 in open play than this time last time out.
Even with the notable jump in set-play finishes, there have actually been only two additional attempts created from these situations excluding spot-kicks, demonstrating the efficiency teams have been at devising strategies to convert from dead-ball situations.
Goal Statistics Show an Interesting Narrative
301 total goals notched in 110 matches to date works out at nearly 2.75 goals per game, which if it continued for the entire campaign could be the least for since 2020-21, since 2020-21 (2.69).
Yet merely 196 scores coming in open-play translates to 1.78 per game and is on course to be the smallest for since 2009-10, since 2009-10 (1.76 average).
That campaign also marks the unique EPL campaign to experience goals scored more frequently from non-penalty set-pieces than this campaign's frequency of 0.77 per game (0.79 average).
What Clubs Account for This Change?
When it comes to goals scored from open-play, Wolverhampton Wanderers have seen the largest decline, netting just four in 11 matches, 10 less than at this stage the previous campaign.
Apart from Wolves, the EPL's fall in open-play scoring is predominantly a London thing, with half of the capital's seven sides netting five or more goals fewer from open-play than the previous year.
Honestly, that's largely down to them netting many goals at the early stages of the previous campaign rather than their genuine struggle to find the net in open-play this season.
Conversely Manchester City have experienced the biggest increase, with nearly all of the 23 they've scored this season originating in open-play.
Set-Piece Success
Comparing clubs that came up with the teams that went down that they superseded. Play-off champions Sunderland have recorded an additional three goals in open-play than Southampton achieved in matchday 11 leading to relegation last season.
In terms of goals scored from dead-ball situations (excluding spot-kicks), the Gunners and the Blues have seen the most significant jump, with the two clubs replacing the five fewer scores that they've produced in open-play with an equal amount from dead-ball chances.
Manchester United have scored double the number scores from set-plays as they did in matchday 11 last season prior to Ruben Amorim took over, while the Black Cats once more are more successful at scoring than the similar-colored team they superseded.
Man City seem unaware of the memo about netting additional goals from set-pieces, as they've recorded a reduction of three than the previous campaign, like Nottingham Forest, though this could be because of the change in style they've attempted to adopt.
General Tendencies
Six sides – Arsenal, the Blues, Fulham, the Magpies, Tottenham and the Hammers – are the current campaign's top trend-setters by netting less scores from open-play and increased from set-plays, while Man City stand as the unique club to go against the grain up to now by achieving the complete reverse.
It will be fascinating to watch if teams carry on to depend greatly on set-plays as matches continue or if they find again their overall inventiveness and start netting increased totals in open play too.
