Are You Not Being Entertained? This Fall of the Goal Scoring

A key narrative of the Premier League season so far has been the reduction of scoring in open-play scenarios and how clubs are netting more from dead-ball situations as an alternative.

Looking at goal sources to the initial 11 matches last season, we note a drop of 39 goals in open-play and an increase of 26 from team set-pieces and penalties, leading to 13 less altogether.

Examining the bigger picture, shot attempts clubs are making have seen a remarkable drop of 370 in open-play than this time previously.

Even with the significant rise in dead-ball scores, there have actually been only two additional shots produced from them excluding penalties, showing the proficiency teams have been at discovering methods to score from dead-ball chances.

Scoring Rates Show the Tale

Over 300 goals notched in 110 matches to date calculates at nearly 2.75 goals per fixture, if this persists for the whole season might be the least for half a decade, from five seasons ago (2.69).

Yet merely 196 goals scored in open play equates to 1.78 per fixture and is on course to be the lowest for 16 seasons, from 16 years ago (1.76).

2009-10 additionally represents the unique EPL campaign to witness scoring more frequently from dead-balls without spot-kicks than this season's rate of 0.77 per game (0.79 per game).

What Clubs Bear the Most Responsibility?

In terms of goals scored from open-play, Wolves have seen the most significant decrease, scoring just four in their first 11 fixtures, 10 less than at this stage last season.

Apart from Wolves, England's top division's drop in open play goals is very much a London thing, with five of the city's seven teams scoring at least five fewer goals from open-play than last season.

To be fair, that's largely down to their scoring lots of goals at the start of the previous campaign rather than their genuine struggle to score in open-play the current term.

At the same time Man City have seen the most significant jump, with all but one of their 23 goals this season originating in open-play.

Set-Play Proficiency

Looking at newly promoted sides with the relegated sides they replaced. Play-off winners the Black Cats have scored three more goals in open play than Southampton did in matchday 11 leading to relegation the previous campaign.

In terms of goals scored from set-pieces (not counting penalties), the Gunners and the Blues have experienced the biggest increase, with both sides replacing the five fewer goals that they've netted in open-play with the same number from set-pieces.

Manchester United have recorded twice as many scores from set-plays as they managed in the 11 games last season ahead of their coach assumed control, while the Black Cats additionally have been more effective at scoring than the similar-colored team that went down.

Man City don't seem to have got the message about scoring more from set-pieces, as they've scored three less than last season, similar to the Reds, although that might be down to the altered approach they've attempted to adopt.

General Tendencies

Six clubs – the Gunners, Chelsea, Fulham, the Magpies, Spurs and West Ham – represent this term's leading trend-followers by netting less scores from open play and increased from set-pieces, while Manchester City stand as the sole team to defy the pattern to date by performing the exact opposite.

It will be interesting to see if sides continue to rely so heavily on set-plays as matches continue or if they rediscover their all-round creativity and start scoring more goals in open-play too.