5 hours ago
14
There is no doubt that 2025-26 has become the season of the set piece.
Almost 19 percent of all goals in the Premier League so far (45 of 241) have been scored from corners, the highest share in the competition's history, while 35.3 per cent of goals (85) have come from any form of set piece including penalties.
This week, Man City boss Pep Guardiola even described how most away games are now like facing Stoke City under Tony Pulis as an obsession with dead-ball situations engulfs the top flight. Ironically, City are the only team to score all of their goals from open play.
But, what if those set piece strikes were ignored?
Well, according to statistics courtesy of Opta, there would be a dramatic shake-up at the top of the Premier League.
In fact, leaders Arsenal, who currently have a four-point lead in first place, would drop down to fifth with seven points fewer.
Tottenham would be top of the Premier League if only goals from open play counted
Arsenal's set piece prowess is well known, but they have scored just five goals from open play
Mikel Arteta's side have scored an incredible 11 out of 16 goals from set pieces this season, yet if those situations were taken out, they would have three wins and six draws from nine games.
The Gunners' arch-rivals Tottenham would replace them at the top of the table, which might surprise fans given the criticism Thomas Frank's side have faced in terms of their creativity from open play.
In an open play goal-only table, City and Liverpool are second and third respectively, with a boost of three and four places.
Things particularly look better for Arne Slot's side after scoring just twice and conceding seven from set pieces during what is turning out to be a difficult season.
Other major movers include Burnley, who would jump from 16th to sixth, the highest rise of any team at 10 places.
Elsewhere, early-season surprise packages including Bournemouth and Sunderland would slide down from second to fourth and fourth to seventh respectively.
The only teams to stay in the exact same position irrespective of set piece goals are Brighton (13th) and Wolves (20th).
| 1. Tottenham Hotspur +2 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 19 |
| 2. Manchester City +3 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 17 | 5 | 12 | 18 |
| 3. Liverpool +4 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 18 |
| 4. Bournemouth -2 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 11 | 8 | 3 | 16 |
| 5. Arsenal -4 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 15 |
| 6. Burnley +10 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 12 | -3 | 14 |
| 7. Sunderland -3 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 13 |
| 8. Chelsea +1 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 13 |
| 9. Newcastle United +3 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 6 | -1 | 13 |
| 10. Aston Villa -2 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 12 |
| 11. Crystal Palace -1 | 9 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 12 |
| 12. Manchester United -6 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 12 |
| 13. Brighton and Hove Albion 0 | 9 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 12 | -4 | 11 |
| 14. Brentford -3 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 12 | -2 | 10 |
| 15. Fulham +2 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 9 | -3 | 10 |
| 16. Leeds United -1 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 7 | -3 | 8 |
| 17. Everton -3 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 9 | -3 | 7 |
| 18. West Ham United +1 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 10 | -5 | 7 |
| 19. Nottingham Forest -1 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 7 | -4 | 6 |
| 20. Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 16 | -12 | 2 |
Burnley's rise of 10 places from 16th to sixth is the biggest positive move of any top flight team
Vitor Pereira's side are still joined in the relegation zone by Nottingham Forest and West Ham, but those two teams would swap places.
Meanwhile, Man United have enjoyed a significant upturn in recent weeks, winning three games in a row.
However, Ruben Amorim's outfit have scored six goals from set pieces, meaning they would move down to 12th if they didn't count, which at six places is the largest drop in the division.
Brentford and Everton would each dip three places, while Newcastle would move into the top half from 12th.
