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

A key narrative of the EPL season so far is the decline of scoring in open-play scenarios and the way sides are netting more from dead-ball situations as an alternative.

Comparing scoring methods to matchday 11 the prior season, we see a drop of 39 goals in open play and 26 more from team set-pieces and penalties, giving us 13 less altogether.

Examining the bigger picture, the number of shots teams are taking show an incredible drop of 370 in open-play than this time last time out.

Regardless of the significant rise in set-piece goals, we've actually seen only two additional shots produced from them excluding spot-kicks, demonstrating how effective teams have been at finding ways to score from dead-ball situations.

Scoring Rates Reveal an Interesting Narrative

The 301 goals recorded in the first 110 fixtures up to now averages out at 2.74 goals each match, if maintained for the entire campaign 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 on course to be the smallest for 16 years, from 16 years ago (1.76 per game).

The 2009-10 season also marks the unique EPL season to see goals scored more often from dead-balls without spot-kicks than this campaign's frequency of 0.77 per game (0.79 average).

Which Sides Are Most Responsible?

When it comes to goals scored from open-play, Wolves have recorded the most significant decline, netting just four in 11 games, 10 less than this point last season.

Apart from Wolves, the EPL's drop in open-play scoring is predominantly a London phenomenon, with five out of the city's seven teams recording five or more fewer goals from open-play than the previous year.

In fairness, this is mainly because them scoring many goals at the beginning of the previous campaign rather than them really struggling to score in open play this campaign.

Meanwhile City have experienced the most significant jump, with nearly all of the 23 they've scored to date arriving in open play.

Set-Play Proficiency

We've compared clubs that came up with the teams that went down they took the place of. Sunderland Sunderland have netted an additional three scores in open-play than Southampton managed in their opening 11 matches on their way to the drop last season.

In terms of scoring from dead-ball situations (not counting penalties), the Gunners and Chelsea have experienced the most significant jump, with both sides compensating for the five fewer scores that they've netted in open-play with identical figures from dead-ball situations.

Manchester United have recorded double the number scores from set-pieces as they achieved in the 11 games the previous campaign before their coach took charge, while Sunderland once more prove better at scoring than the fellow red-and-whites that went down.

City seem unaware of the message about increasing scoring from set-pieces, since they've scored three fewer than the previous campaign, similar to Nottingham Forest, though this could be because of the tactical shift they've attempted to adopt.

League-Wide Trends

Six sides – the Gunners, Chelsea, Fulham, the Magpies, Tottenham and the Hammers – represent this season's primary examples by netting less goals from open play and more from set-plays, while Man City represent the only side to buck the trend to date by achieving the exact opposite.

It will be fascinating to see if sides persist to rely so heavily on set-plays as matches continue or if they regain their general attacking flair and start netting increased totals in open play too.