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A key narrative of the Premier League season so far is the reduction of goals scored in open play and how sides are finding goals more from set-pieces instead.

When we compare how goals have been scored to matchday 11 last season, there have been 39 fewer scored in open-play and 26 more from team set-pieces and spot-kicks, giving us 13 less in total.

Examining the broader view, efforts on goal clubs are making have seen a remarkable drop of 370 in open-play than at this stage last season.

Even with the big increase in set-play finishes, records show a mere two extra shots created from these situations excluding spot-kicks, demonstrating how effective clubs are at discovering methods to score from set-pieces.

Goal Statistics Tell an Interesting Narrative

The 301 goals scored in the first 110 fixtures so far calculates at 2.74 goals per game, which if it continued for all 38 games would be the least for since 2020-21, since 2020-21 (2.69 average).

But just under 200 goals scored in open play equates to 1.78 each match and is heading to be the least for since 2009-10, from 16 years ago (1.76 per game).

2009-10 additionally represents the only Premier League season to experience goals scored more often from set-plays excluding penalties than the current rate of 0.77 per fixture (0.79).

Which Sides Bear the Most Responsibility?

When it comes to scoring from open-play, Wolves have recorded the most significant decrease, netting a mere four in 11 games, 10 fewer than at this stage the previous campaign.

Apart from Wolves, the EPL's decline in open play goals is very much a trend among London clubs, with half of the London's seven clubs recording five or more goals fewer from open play than last season.

Honestly, this is mainly because their scoring many goals at the start of the previous campaign instead of them really struggling to find the net in open-play this season.

Meanwhile Man City have recorded the biggest increase, with almost every one of the 23 they've scored to date coming in open-play.

Set-Play Proficiency

We've compared the promoted teams with the teams that went down that they superseded. Play-off champions the Black Cats have scored three more scores in open play than the Saints did in matchday 11 en route to demotion last season.

Regarding goals scored from set-plays (not counting spot-kicks), Arsenal and Chelsea have experienced the largest rise, with the two clubs replacing the five fewer goals that they've netted in open play with an equal amount from dead-ball situations.

United have netted twice as many scores from set-pieces as they did in the 11 games the previous campaign before Ruben Amorim assumed control, while the Black Cats again have been more successful at netting than the club they replaced they replaced.

Manchester City seem unaware of the message about netting additional goals from set-plays, since they've recorded a reduction of three than last season, as have Nottingham Forest, even if this could be because of the change in style they've attempted to adopt.

League-Wide Trends

Six teams – the Gunners, Chelsea, Fulham, Newcastle, Tottenham and the Hammers – are the current campaign's leading trend-followers by recording fewer scores from open play and more from set-pieces, while Manchester City are the only side to buck the trend up to now by achieving the complete reverse.

It will be fascinating to watch if teams carry on to depend greatly on set-plays as the campaign progresses or if they rediscover their overall inventiveness and begin converting additional scores in open play too.