Is the Entertainment Fading? This Drop of Open-Play Goals from Open Play

One of the biggest stories of the Premier League season so far has been the decline of goals scored in open play and how clubs have been scoring increasingly from set-plays as an alternative.

Comparing how goals have been scored to the first 11 games last season, there have been a drop of 39 scored in open-play and an increase of 26 from set-plays and penalties, giving us 13 fewer overall.

Examining overall statistics, the number of shots clubs are making show a remarkable drop of 370 in open-play than at this stage last season.

And despite the significant rise in set-piece goals, we've actually seen only two additional attempts generated from these situations excluding penalties, showing the efficiency sides have been at finding ways to score from dead-ball chances.

Goal Averages Show a Story

The 301 goals recorded in 110 games so far works out at nearly 2.75 goals per fixture, if this persists for the entire campaign might be the least for half a decade, from five seasons ago (2.69 average).

But just 196 scores scored in open-play equates to 1.78 per game and is tracking to be the lowest for since 2009-10, from 16 years ago (1.76).

2009-10 is also the sole English top-flight campaign to experience goals scored at a higher rate from non-penalty set-pieces than this campaign's frequency of 0.77 per game (0.79 average).

Which Teams Bear the Most Responsibility?

When it comes to goals scored from open play, Wolves have experienced the largest drop, registering a mere four in their first 11 fixtures, a reduction of 10 than this point the previous campaign.

Outside of Wolverhampton, England's top division's decline in goals from open play is very much a London phenomenon, with half of the capital's seven sides scoring five or more goals fewer from open play than the previous year.

To be fair, this is primarily due to them scoring numerous goals at the early stages of last season as opposed to them having difficulty to score in open play this campaign.

Conversely Man City have seen the biggest increase, with almost every one of their 23 scores to date coming in open-play.

Set-Play Proficiency

Comparing clubs that came up with the relegated sides they replaced. Play-off winners the Black Cats have netted three extra goals in open play than the Saints did in their first 11 games en route to the drop last season.

In terms of goals scored from set-pieces (aside from spot-kicks), Arsenal and Chelsea have experienced the most significant jump, with each team compensating for the five fewer scores that they've scored in open play with identical figures from dead-ball situations.

Man United have recorded double the number scores from set-plays as they achieved in matchday 11 the previous campaign prior to their coach took over, while Sunderland once more are more successful at converting than the club they replaced that went down.

Man City seem unaware of the message about netting additional goals from set-pieces, as they've netted three fewer than the previous campaign, as have Nottingham Forest, though this may result from the altered approach they're working to install.

League-Wide Trends

Six teams – the Gunners, Chelsea, Fulham, Newcastle, Spurs and the Hammers – are the current campaign's leading trend-followers by scoring fewer goals from open play and more from set-plays, while City stand as the sole team to defy the pattern to date by achieving the complete reverse.

It will be fascinating to watch if teams persist to depend greatly on set-pieces as matches continue or if they regain their overall inventiveness and commence scoring increased totals in open play also.