Talking Tactics

Tactical review: Free-kick goals a dying breed

By Adrian Clarke 27 May 2018

Adrian Clarke investigates why set-piece goals from outside, and inside, the penalty area were in decline

Adrian Clarke takes a look at tactical trends that took place in 2017/18.

Set-pieces

Has scoring from free-kicks become a dying art? Looking at the numbers from 2017/18, you would think so.

Only 16 direct free-kicks were scored this season, a record low by some distance. The lowest previous return from a full Premier League campaign was 25, in 2015/16.

At first glance it appears that free-kick specialists are thin on the ground.

Only two players scored more than once from a direct set-play: Marcos Alonso and Philippe Coutinho both scored twice.

Just four players hit the target more than three times from their free-kicks as well. Of that quartet, only Kevin De Bruyne found the net.

Most direct free-kicks on target

2017/18	Total
Christian Eriksen	7
Kevin De Bruyne	5
Alexis Sanchez	5
Willian	4

Fewer free-kicks

Inconsistency from the best set-piece technicians only tells half the story. Also significant is the fact that far fewer direct free-kicks were awarded during 2017/18.

The table below does not include direct set-plays that were passed or crossed, but the figure of 339 shots from free-kicks is the lowest on record.

Decline of free-kick shots and goals since 2005/06*

Season	Free-kick shots	Direct free-kick goals
2005/06	600	28
2008/09	682	33
2011/12	553	29
2014/15	441	27
2017/18	339	16

*select seasons only

Perspective required

Yet some perspective is needed when analysing these figures, too.

The 2005/06 and 2010/11 campaigns were worse than 2017/18 for the shot/goal ratios from direct free-kicks.

This season's free-kick conversion rate of 4.72 per cent was barely inferior to the levels of 2008/09 (4.84 per cent), when more than double the goals were scored.

A bar chart showing decline of free-kick shots taken in the Premier League from 700 in 2008/09 to less than 400 in 2017/18

Better defending

Certainly the dynamic inside the final third has altered, with fewer fouls being committed inside the box, too.

Only 56 penalties were scored in 2017/18, another Premier League low, down from 81 in 2016/17.

It is interesting to note that Crystal Palace and Manchester City were awarded the most penalties this season, with 10 and eight respectively, while Everton also won eight.

It is perhaps no coincidence that the pace and trickery of Wilfried Zaha and Raheem Sterling played a part, with the Palace man earning four spot-kicks and the Man City forward winning six.

Encouraging fast and skilful attacking players to make more bursts past defenders, with and without the ball, could be the way to buck this trend with set-pieces and penalties.