🔗 Share this article Where Has the Excitement Gone? This Drop of Open-Play Goal Scoring Wolves have scored 10 fewer scores from open play than at this stage the previous campaign. A key narrative of the Premier League season so far is the decline of goals scored in open play and how sides are finding goals increasingly from set-pieces as an alternative. Comparing how goals have been scored to the initial 11 matches the prior season, there have been 39 fewer scored in open play and 26 more from set-plays and spot-kicks, giving us 13 less overall. If we look at the broader view, shot attempts sides are producing have seen a remarkable 370 fewer in open-play than at this stage last season. Regardless of the significant rise in set-piece goals, records show just two more attempts produced from them outside of spot-kicks, indicating how effective clubs have been at finding ways to net from dead-ball situations. Goal Averages Reveal a Story Over 300 goals recorded in the first 110 fixtures so far averages out at nearly 2.75 goals per game, which if it continued for the whole season could be the smallest for half a decade, from five seasons ago (2.69 average). Yet merely under 200 goals coming in open-play translates to 1.78 per fixture and is heading to be the least for 16 years, back in 2009-10 (1.76 per game). The 2009-10 season also marks the only Premier League campaign to see scoring more often from non-penalty set-pieces than this campaign's frequency of 0.77 per game (0.79 per game). Which Sides Bear the Most Responsibility? In terms of goals scored from open-play, Wolves have experienced the largest decrease, netting just four in 11 matches, 10 less than at this stage the previous campaign. Outside of Wolves, the EPL's drop in open play goals is predominantly a trend among London clubs, with five of the London's seven clubs netting a minimum of five goals fewer from open play than the previous year. In fairness, this is mainly because them netting many scores at the early stages of last season as opposed to them really struggling to score in open-play the current term. Conversely City have recorded the most significant jump, with nearly all of the 23 they've scored this season coming in open-play. Set-Piece Success Looking at clubs that came up with the relegated sides they took the place of. Play-off champions Sunderland have scored three extra scores in open-play than Southampton did in their opening 11 matches on their way to the drop last season. Regarding goals scored from set-plays (excluding penalties), Arsenal and Chelsea have experienced the most significant jump, with both sides making up for the five less goals that they've scored in open-play with identical figures from set-pieces. Man United have netted double the number goals from set-plays as they did in matchday 11 the previous campaign ahead of their coach took over, while Sunderland once more have been better at scoring than the similar-colored team they superseded. Manchester City don't seem to have got the trend about scoring more from set-plays, since they've recorded a reduction of three than the previous campaign, similar to the Reds, although that might be down to the change in style they have tried to implement. General Tendencies Six sides – Arsenal, the Blues, Fulham, Newcastle, Tottenham and the Hammers – have been this season's primary examples by recording fewer goals from open play and increased from set-plays, while Man City represent the sole team to buck the trend to date by achieving the exact opposite. It remains to be seen to watch if teams persist to depend greatly on set-plays as matches continue or if they rediscover their overall inventiveness and start scoring additional scores in open play also.