Where Has the Excitement Gone? This Decline of Open-Play Goals from Open Play

A key narrative of the EPL this campaign concerns the reduction of scoring in open play and the way teams are finding goals increasingly from dead-ball situations as an alternative.

Comparing how goals have been scored to matchday 11 the prior season, we note 39 fewer scored in open play and 26 more from team set-pieces and penalties, giving us 13 less overall.

If we look at overall statistics, shot attempts sides are producing reveal a staggering drop of 370 in open-play than this time last season.

Regardless of the big increase in set-play finishes, we've actually seen just two more attempts generated from them outside of penalties, indicating the proficiency teams are at discovering methods to score from set-pieces.

Scoring Rates Reveal a Story

301 total goals notched in 110 matches so far calculates at 2.74 scores per game, which if it continued for the entire campaign could be the lowest for half a decade, back in 2020-21 (2.69 per game).

However, only 196 goals scored in open-play equates to 1.78 per game and is tracking to be the smallest for 16 years, since 2009-10 (1.76 per game).

That campaign also marks the unique EPL campaign to witness goals scored more often from dead-balls without spot-kicks than this season's rate of 0.77 per game (0.79 per game).

Which Sides Are Most Responsible?

When it comes to scoring from open-play, Wolverhampton Wanderers have seen by far the biggest drop, scoring only four in 11 matches, 10 less than this point last season.

Outside of Wolves, the EPL's drop in goals from open play is largely a London phenomenon, with five out of the London's seven clubs netting at least five less scores from open-play than the previous year.

Honestly, that's largely down to them scoring numerous scores at the beginning of last season instead of their genuine struggle to find the net in open-play this campaign.

Conversely Man City have experienced the biggest increase, with nearly all of their 23 goals so far coming in open play.

Set-Play Proficiency

We've compared the promoted teams with the teams that went down they replaced. Sunderland the Black Cats have recorded three extra goals in open play than Southampton achieved in their opening 11 matches en route to the drop the previous campaign.

When it comes to scoring from set-plays (excluding penalties), the Gunners and Chelsea have recorded the largest rise, with each team replacing the reduction of five goals that they've netted in open play with identical figures from dead-ball situations.

Man United have netted twice as many goals from set-pieces as they achieved in the 11 games the previous campaign before their coach took over, while Sunderland again prove more successful at scoring than the club they replaced that went down.

City seem unaware of the message about netting additional goals from set-pieces, since they've scored a reduction of three than the previous campaign, similar to the Reds, though this could be because of the change in style they've attempted to adopt.

League-Wide Trends

Six teams – Arsenal, the Blues, the Cottagers, the Magpies, Spurs and the Hammers – are this term's top trend-setters by scoring fewer goals from open-play and increased from set-plays, while Manchester City stand as the only side to buck the trend to date by achieving the complete reverse.

It will be fascinating to see if teams carry on to place such emphasis on set-plays as the season goes on or if they regain their general attacking flair and start converting increased totals in open play too.