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A key narrative of the Premier League season so far concerns the decline of goals scored in open play and how clubs are netting increasingly from set-plays as an alternative.

Comparing how goals have been scored to the first 11 games the prior season, we see 39 fewer scored in open-play and an increase of 26 from team set-pieces and spot-kicks, giving us 13 less altogether.

Examining the bigger picture, shot attempts sides are producing have seen an incredible 370 fewer in open play than this time last time out.

Even with the notable jump in set-piece goals, we've actually seen a mere two extra attempts produced from them outside of spot-kicks, showing the proficiency teams are at discovering methods to net from set-pieces.

Goal Averages Tell the Tale

301 total goals scored in 110 matches to date averages out at 2.74 goals each match, if this persists for all 38 games would be the least for five years, since 2020-21 (2.69 per game).

Yet merely 196 scores scored in open-play translates to 1.78 each match and is on course to be the least for 16 seasons, back in 2009-10 (1.76 per game).

The 2009-10 season additionally represents the unique EPL campaign to experience scoring at a higher rate from dead-balls without spot-kicks than this campaign's frequency of 0.77 per game (0.79).

Which Teams Bear the Most Responsibility?

Regarding scoring from open-play, Wolves have recorded the largest decline, scoring just four in their first 11 fixtures, a reduction of 10 than this point the previous campaign.

Outside of Wolves, the Premier League's decline in open play goals is predominantly a London thing, with five of the city's seven teams netting five or more less scores from open play than last season.

In fairness, that's largely down to their scoring lots of scores at the start of last season as opposed to their genuine struggle to find the net in open-play this season.

Meanwhile City have experienced the largest rise, with almost every one of the 23 they've scored to date coming in open play.

Dead-Ball Dominance

Comparing the promoted teams with the teams that went down that they superseded. Play-off winners the Black Cats have scored three extra scores in open play than Southampton achieved in their first 11 games en route to the drop the previous campaign.

In terms of goals scored from dead-ball situations (not counting penalties), Arsenal and the Blues have recorded the biggest increase, with both sides making up for the five less scores that they've netted in open-play with the same number from dead-ball chances.

United have netted double the number scores from set-pieces as they achieved in the first 11 matches last season ahead of the manager took over, while the Black Cats again are better at scoring than the club they replaced they superseded.

Manchester City don't seem to have got the message about increasing scoring from set-pieces, because they've netted three less than the previous campaign, like Nottingham Forest, even if this may result from the change in style they've attempted to adopt.

League-Wide Trends

Six teams – the Gunners, the Blues, Fulham, the Magpies, Spurs and West Ham – represent the current campaign's primary examples by recording fewer goals from open-play and additional from set-plays, while Manchester City represent the sole team to defy the pattern to date by doing the exact opposite.

It remains to be seen to see if teams carry on to depend greatly on set-pieces as the campaign progresses or if they regain their overall inventiveness and begin scoring additional scores in open-play too.