Is the Entertainment Fading? The Decline of the Goal Scoring
One of the biggest stories of the Premier League season so far has been the drop of scoring in open-play scenarios and the way teams are finding goals increasingly from set-plays instead.
Comparing goal sources to the first 11 games the prior season, we see a drop of 39 goals in open play and 26 more from set-plays and spot-kicks, giving us 13 less in total.
If we look at the bigger picture, shot attempts sides are producing reveal a remarkable 370 fewer in open-play than at this stage last season.
And despite the significant rise in set-play finishes, there have actually been just two more shots generated from these situations excluding spot-kicks, showing the efficiency teams have been at discovering methods to net from dead-ball situations.
Goal Averages Reveal the Tale
The 301 goals recorded in 110 matches to date calculates at nearly 2.75 goals per game, which if it continued for all 38 games might be the least for since 2020-21, from five seasons ago (2.69 per game).
However, only 196 scores scored in open-play averages out 1.78 per fixture and is on course to be the smallest for since 2009-10, since 2009-10 (1.76).
2009-10 additionally represents the only Premier League campaign to experience goals scored more frequently from non-penalty set-pieces than this season's rate of 0.77 each match (0.79 average).
Which Teams Bear the Most Responsibility?
Regarding goals scored from open-play, Wolves have seen the most significant decline, registering only four in their first 11 fixtures, 10 fewer than at this stage the previous campaign.
Excluding Wolves, the Premier League's decline in open play goals is largely a trend among London clubs, with five of the city's seven teams scoring at least five fewer goals from open play than the previous year.
To be fair, that's largely down to them netting many goals at the beginning of last season as opposed to their genuine struggle to convert in open-play this campaign.
At the same time City have experienced the biggest increase, with nearly all of their 23 scores this season arriving in open play.
Dead-Ball Dominance
We've compared the promoted teams with those that were relegated that they superseded. Play-off champions Sunderland have netted an additional three goals in open-play than Southampton achieved in matchday 11 leading to relegation the previous campaign.
In terms of scoring from set-pieces (not counting spot-kicks), the Gunners and the Blues have seen the largest rise, with each team making up for the reduction of five scores that they've produced in open play with identical figures from dead-ball chances.
Manchester United have recorded twice as many scores from set-plays as they did in the 11 games the previous campaign ahead of their coach assumed control, while the Black Cats once more prove more effective at netting than the fellow red-and-whites they replaced.
City appear not to have received the message about netting additional goals from set-plays, as they've scored a reduction of three than last season, similar to Forest, even if this could be because of the altered approach they're working to install.
League-Wide Trends
Six sides – the Gunners, Chelsea, the Cottagers, the Magpies, Tottenham and West Ham – are this season's top trend-setters by scoring fewer scores from open play and additional from set-pieces, while Manchester City stand as the unique club to buck the trend to date by doing the complete reverse.
It remains to be seen to watch if teams carry on to place such emphasis on set-plays as the season goes on or if they rediscover their overall inventiveness and start netting more goals in open play too.