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One of the biggest stories of the Premier League season so far concerns the reduction of scoring in open play and how teams are finding goals increasingly from set-plays instead.

When we compare goal sources to the first 11 games the prior season, there have been a drop of 39 scored in open-play and an increase of 26 from set-plays and penalties, leading to 13 fewer in total.

Considering the broader view, efforts on goal sides are producing have seen a staggering drop of 370 in open-play than this time last season.

And despite the big increase in set-play finishes, we've actually seen only two additional attempts generated from these situations excluding spot-kicks, showing the efficiency sides have been at discovering methods to score from dead-ball situations.

Goal Averages Tell an Interesting Narrative

301 total goals scored in 110 matches up to now calculates at 2.74 scores per fixture, which if it continued for all 38 games might be the smallest for five years, since 2020-21 (2.69 per game).

Yet merely under 200 goals coming in open play equates to 1.78 per game and is tracking to be the least for 16 seasons, from 16 years ago (1.76 average).

The 2009-10 season also marks the sole English top-flight season to experience scoring at a higher rate from dead-balls without spot-kicks than this season's rate of 0.77 each match (0.79 average).

What Clubs Bear the Most Responsibility?

When it comes to scoring from open-play, Wolves have experienced the most significant decrease, scoring just four in 11 games, 10 less than at this stage last season.

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

Honestly, this is mainly because their scoring lots of scores at the start of the previous campaign instead of them having difficulty to convert in open play this campaign.

Conversely City have seen the largest rise, with all but one of their 23 goals so far coming in open play.

Set-Piece Success

We've compared the promoted teams with those that were relegated they took the place of. Sunderland Sunderland have scored three extra goals in open play than Southampton managed in matchday 11 on their way to demotion the previous campaign.

In terms of scoring from set-plays (not counting spot-kicks), the Gunners and Chelsea have recorded the biggest increase, with each team replacing the reduction of five scores that they've scored in open-play with identical figures from set-pieces.

United have scored twice as many goals from set-plays as they managed in matchday 11 the previous campaign before Ruben Amorim assumed control, while the Black Cats additionally prove more effective at scoring than the fellow red-and-whites they superseded.

Man City appear not to have received the message about scoring more from set-pieces, since they've netted three fewer than the previous campaign, as have Nottingham Forest, although this could be because of the altered approach they've attempted to adopt.

League-Wide Trends

Six teams – the Gunners, the Blues, Fulham, Newcastle, Tottenham and the Hammers – represent this term's primary examples by recording fewer goals from open-play and increased from set-pieces, while Manchester City represent the unique club to go against the grain up to now by performing the contrary.

It will be interesting to watch if sides carry on to rely so heavily on set-plays as matches continue or if they rediscover their general attacking flair and start converting additional scores in open-play also.