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A major talking point of the Premier League season so far concerns the decline of scoring in open play and how sides have been scoring more from dead-ball situations instead.

When we compare scoring methods to matchday 11 last season, there have been 39 fewer goals in open play and 26 more from set-plays and spot-kicks, leading to 13 fewer overall.

Considering the broader view, shot attempts clubs are making have seen a remarkable 370 fewer in open-play than at this stage last season.

Even with the significant rise in dead-ball scores, there have actually been just two more attempts generated from them outside of penalties, showing how effective teams are at devising strategies to score from set-pieces.

Goal Statistics Reveal the Tale

Over 300 goals recorded in 110 matches up to now averages out at 2.74 goals each match, if maintained for the whole season would be the lowest for five years, since 2020-21 (2.69 per game).

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, back in 2009-10 (1.76 per game).

The 2009-10 season additionally represents the only Premier League season to see goals scored more frequently from set-plays excluding penalties than this campaign's frequency of 0.77 per fixture (0.79).

Which Teams Bear the Most Responsibility?

Regarding goals scored from open play, Wolves have seen the most significant decrease, registering just four in their first 11 fixtures, a reduction of 10 than this point last season.

Outside of Wolverhampton, the EPL's drop in goals from open play is largely a trend among London clubs, with five out of the London's seven clubs recording at least five less scores from open-play than last season.

To be fair, that's largely down to their scoring many scores at the early stages of the previous campaign rather than them really struggling to score in open-play the current term.

Conversely Man City have seen the biggest increase, with almost every one of the 23 they've scored this season arriving in open-play.

Set-Play Proficiency

Looking at newly promoted sides with the relegated sides they took the place of. Play-off champions Sunderland have scored an additional three goals in open play than Southampton did in their opening 11 matches leading to demotion the previous campaign.

When it comes to goals scored from dead-ball situations (aside from penalties), Arsenal and Chelsea have seen the largest rise, with each team making up for the reduction of five scores that they've produced in open play with an equal amount from dead-ball chances.

Man United have recorded double the number scores from set-plays as they did in the first 11 matches last season ahead of Ruben Amorim took over, while the Black Cats once more prove better at netting than the fellow red-and-whites they superseded.

City seem unaware of the trend about scoring more from set-plays, since they've scored a reduction of three than last season, similar to Forest, even if this may result from the tactical shift they have tried to implement.

League-Wide Trends

Six sides – the Gunners, Chelsea, the Cottagers, Newcastle, Tottenham and West Ham – represent this season's top trend-setters by recording fewer scores from open-play and increased from set-plays, while Man City stand as the sole team to defy the pattern up to now by performing the contrary.

It will be interesting to see if sides continue to depend greatly on set-pieces as the season goes on or if they find again their all-round creativity and begin converting more goals in open-play too.