Is the Entertainment Fading? This Decline of the Goals from Open Play

A key narrative of England's top flight this campaign concerns the drop of goals scored in open play and the way teams have been scoring more from dead-ball situations instead.

When we compare goal sources to matchday 11 the prior season, we see 39 fewer goals in open-play and 26 more from set-plays and penalties, leading to 13 fewer in total.

If we look at overall statistics, efforts on goal clubs are making have seen an incredible drop of 370 in open-play than at this stage last time out.

And despite the significant rise in set-piece goals, there have actually been only two additional shots generated from these situations excluding spot-kicks, indicating the proficiency teams have been at discovering methods to convert from set-pieces.

Scoring Rates Tell the Tale

Over 300 goals recorded in 110 matches so far works out at 2.74 scores per fixture, if this persists for all 38 games would be the lowest for five years, from five seasons ago (2.69 average).

However, only 196 goals coming in open-play averages out 1.78 per fixture and is on course to be the least for 16 seasons, from 16 years ago (1.76 per game).

That campaign is also the unique EPL campaign to witness scoring more often from set-plays excluding penalties than this season's rate of 0.77 per game (0.79 per game).

What Clubs Are Most Responsible?

In terms of goals scored from open play, Wolves have recorded the largest decline, netting a mere four in their first 11 fixtures, 10 less than at this stage the previous campaign.

Apart from Wolves, the EPL's drop in goals from open play is very much a London phenomenon, with five out of the capital's seven sides netting at least five fewer goals from open-play than last season.

To be fair, this is mainly because them scoring many scores at the early stages of the previous campaign instead of them really struggling to score in open-play this campaign.

At the same time City have recorded the biggest increase, with nearly all of their 23 scores to date coming in open-play.

Dead-Ball Dominance

Comparing clubs that came up with the relegated sides that they superseded. Play-off winners the Black Cats have netted three more scores in open-play than Southampton achieved in their first 11 games leading to demotion the previous campaign.

In terms of scoring from set-plays (aside from penalties), Arsenal and the Blues have experienced the most significant jump, with the two clubs making up for the reduction of five goals that they've produced in open play with an equal amount from dead-ball situations.

Man United have scored double the number goals from set-pieces as they achieved in matchday 11 last season before their coach took charge, while Sunderland again prove more effective at scoring than the fellow red-and-whites they replaced.

City don't seem to have got the memo about netting additional goals from set-pieces, since they've scored three fewer than the previous campaign, like Nottingham Forest, though this could be because of the tactical shift they're working to install.

General Tendencies

Six teams – the Gunners, Chelsea, Fulham, the Magpies, Tottenham and West Ham – are this season's leading trend-followers by recording fewer goals from open play and increased from set-plays, while Man City represent the unique club to buck the trend to date by achieving the contrary.

It will be interesting to observe if clubs carry on to place such emphasis on set-plays as the season goes on or if they rediscover their all-round creativity and start scoring increased totals in open-play too.