Are You Not Being Entertained? The Drop of the Goals from Open Play
A major talking point of the EPL season so far has been the drop of scoring in open play and the way teams have been scoring increasingly from set-pieces instead.
Looking at how goals have been scored to matchday 11 last season, we see a drop of 39 goals in open-play and an increase of 26 from set-plays and penalties, leading to 13 fewer altogether.
Considering the broader view, efforts on goal clubs are making reveal a remarkable drop of 370 in open-play than this time last time out.
Even with the notable jump in set-play finishes, we've actually seen only two additional attempts produced from them outside of penalties, showing the proficiency teams are at devising strategies to score from dead-ball chances.
Goal Averages Show an Interesting Narrative
301 total goals scored in 110 games up to now calculates at 2.74 scores each match, if maintained for the entire campaign could be the lowest for half a decade, from five seasons ago (2.69 per game).
But just 196 scores scored in open-play equates to 1.78 per game and is tracking to be the smallest for since 2009-10, back in 2009-10 (1.76 per game).
That campaign additionally represents the sole English top-flight season to experience goals scored more frequently from set-plays excluding penalties than the current rate of 0.77 per game (0.79).
Which Teams Are Most Responsible?
When it comes to goals scored from open play, Wolves have seen by far the biggest decline, netting a mere four in 11 games, 10 less than at this stage the previous campaign.
Outside of Wolverhampton, the Premier League's decline in goals from open play is very much a London thing, with five of the city's seven teams netting five or more goals fewer from open play than the previous year.
In fairness, this is mainly because them netting lots of scores at the start of the previous campaign instead of them having difficulty to convert in open-play this campaign.
Meanwhile Manchester City have seen the largest rise, with almost every one of their 23 scores to date coming in open play.
Dead-Ball Dominance
Comparing clubs that came up with the relegated sides they took the place of. Play-off winners Sunderland have recorded three extra goals in open-play than the Saints managed in their first 11 games on their way to relegation last season.
When it comes to scoring from set-pieces (not counting penalties), Arsenal and Chelsea have experienced the most significant jump, with each team making up for the reduction of five goals that they've scored in open play with identical figures from set-pieces.
Man United have scored double the number scores from set-pieces as they did in matchday 11 last season prior to the manager took over, while the Black Cats once more have been better at scoring than the similar-colored team that went down.
Manchester City seem unaware of the trend about netting additional goals from set-plays, as they've netted a reduction of three than last season, like Nottingham Forest, though that might be down to the change in style they have tried to implement.
League-Wide Trends
Six teams – the Gunners, Chelsea, Fulham, the Magpies, Tottenham and the Hammers – have been the current campaign's top trend-setters by recording fewer goals from open play and additional from set-plays, while City represent the unique club to go against the grain to date by performing the contrary.
It remains to be seen to see if clubs persist to rely so heavily on set-plays as the campaign progresses or if they rediscover their all-round creativity and commence scoring increased totals in open play as well.
