The number of goals scored is on the rise in the Premier League.
What is behind the increasing emphasis on dead ball situations? And why do some teams excel and others struggle?
This week Between the lines looks at one of the main trends this season as clubs battle for supremacy.
Change of accent?
The increase in the number of goals without penalty can be seen in the numbers. It has averaged 0.8 per game this season, an increase on 0.6 last term and an increase of roughly 50 per cent on the 0.5 per game average in the 2020/21 campaign.
The inverse pattern can be seen for open play goals. This season’s average of 1.8 open goals per game is down from 2.2 last season and 2.4 the campaign before that.
It’s part of a shift in emphasis towards kit efficiency. Spurs coach Thomas Frank recently used the term “low-hanging fruit” to describe set pieces as a way to get there. It’s clearly a view shared by a growing number of clubs up and down the division.
Specialized trainers were unusual just a few years ago. Now, 15 of the 20 Premier League clubs employ coaches. Brentford even promoted their manager to head coach when Keith Andrews replaced Franco.
Arsenal have had success with one of the Premier League’s most recognizable coaches in the Nicholas Jover. They recently hired a former Liverpool coach Thomas Gronnemarkhighlighting their commitment to maximizing the kit.
Specialist coaches are responsible for applying techniques and designing routines that are perfected through practice and repetition on the range. Teams now spend more time on sets during games as well as behind closed doors.
According to Opta, the average number of seconds spent preparing for corners has steadily increased over the past 10 seasons in the Premier League, from 26 seconds in 2016/17 to 36 seconds this term, as players need time to communicate routines.
There was a similar pattern of time spent preparing for free kicks, while time spent preparing for throw-ins increased even more dramatically this season following the resurgence of long throws up and down the division.
Arsenal the most efficient, Liverpool the least
Arsenal are still the leaders in the field of set pieces. The Gunners have topped the list for goals scored, excluding penalties, in each of the last two seasons and occupy the same spot this term, with a total of 14 goals, one more than Manchester United.
Chesley and Leeds have the next highest total, with 12, while Liverpool are at the opposite end of the scale with just three goals without a penalty, fewer than even Premier League bottom side Wolves, who have scored four.
Liverpool’s problems are not limited to attacking. They struggle just as badly in defense. Their total of 13 set goals this term is the joint-second highest in the Premier League behind Bournemouth, 14.
The result is that while Arsenal are first in terms of net goals from set pieces on nine, having conceded just five of the 14 they have scored, putting them just ahead of Spurs, who have improved considerably in the area under Franco, Liverpool are bottom with -10.
Inswingers vs. outswingers
So what do Arsenal and Liverpool do differently?
At the corners there is a significant difference in the type of delivery.
Statistically, in-swinging corners are more likely to lead to goals, but Liverpool have the lowest percentage of inswingers in the Premier League this season at 48 per cent. Arsenal, by contrast, has one of the highest percentages, 81 percent.
There have been 77 goals from in-swinging corners in the Premier League this season, according to Opta, compared to just 11 from corners.
The difference is partly due to the greater number of inswingers compared to outswingers. But inswingers also have a higher success rate, with 5.3 percent of inswingers leading to goals this season compared to just 3.6 percent of outswingers.
Using swinging deliveries, teams are able to target the six-yard box, putting opposing goalkeepers under direct pressure and creating close-range chances with shots and headers.
The inswinger’s trajectory also opens up the opportunity to score directly from a corner, as Newcastle’s Bruno Guimaraes did against Burnley in December.
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Watch Bruno Guimaraes’ goal direct from a corner against Burnley
Shooting the penalty area with inswingers continues to pay off for Arsenal, most recently in their 4-1 win over Aston Villa, when Gabriel was able to put Emiliano Martinez under pressure and head Bukayo Saka’s corner over the line from a few yards out.
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Watch Gabriel’s goal from a corner in Arsenal’s recent win over Aston Villa
But there is a stark contrast in Liverpool’s corner delivery locations.
While Arsenal sent 58 percent of their corners into the penalty area, Liverpool only hit the penalty area with 36 percent of theirs. A much larger proportion land further from the target, and therefore in less dangerous areas, due to the use of decoys
This graphic reveals that nearly three-quarters of Arsenal’s corners are taken close to the opposition’s goal
It’s a factor that helps explain Arsenal’s superior scoring record. Meanwhile, Jamie Carragher has put Liverpool’s set-piece defending problems down to a zonal marking system that leaves too much space for opposition players.
Analyzing Harrison Reid’s long-range equalizer for Fulham earlier this month, a goal that came from a throw-in situation, he said ski sports Extra Time: “It seemed to me that it was too easy to hit the edge of the box.”
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Liverpool’s marking system allowed Harrison Reid the space to equalise
“What Liverpool like to do at set pieces is a personal attitude and also having three players in the zone. That means there is an overload outside the box.”
Fulham eventually took advantage of that overload in spectacular style, but the problem has been evident all season, with the vast majority of Liverpool’s goals conceded coming from second balls sent into space by opposition players.
The extent of the problem can be seen in the fact that only one Premier League side, Crystal Palace, have conceded a higher percentage of goals from set-pieces than Liverpool this term.
Leeds long throw specialists?
Long throws have been adopted by most Premier League teams this season. The average more than doubled to nearly four per game. But which clubs use them most effectively?
Brentford took the most long throws this season, becoming the first side to reach 100 for the campaign during their 3-0 win over Sunderland last weekend.
Their use of long throws is not new. Bees were early adopters. This season, their throws have led to three goals, joint-highest in the Premier League along with Crystal Palace and Sunderland.
Interestingly, though, it’s Leeds, not Brentford, Palace or Sunderland, who come top in shots and expected goals from long throws, suggesting they are the most dangerous.
Daniel Farke’s side have only scored twice from long throws this season, but managed 28 shots worth 3.46kg from a total of 75 long throws, compared to Brentford’s 27 shots worth 2.73kg from 100 long throws.
It’s just another area where Premier League teams are struggling to find an edge as the trend towards set pieces continues.
Read last week’s Between the Lines
Ahead of Michael Carrick’s appointment as head coach, we took a look at which managers best fit Manchester United’s legendary ‘DNA’ using the style profile of title-winner Sir Alex Ferguson in 2012/13. Carrick was ranked pretty high, but which former Chelsea boss came out on top?