The set-piece era: how dead balls quietly decided the season
Set-piece goals are at a record high in the Premier League, and the clubs hiring dedicated throw-in and corner coaches are pulling clear. Here is what changed, and why the trend is not slowing down.
- Set-piece share
- Roughly 1 in 3 goals this season
- Driving it
- Dedicated set-piece coaches
- Biggest gainers
- Arsenal, Brentford, Forest
For years, set pieces were an afterthought — a few minutes at the end of training on a Friday. That era is over.
A handful of clubs now employ full-time set-piece coaches whose only job is to engineer goals from corners, free-kicks and long throws. The results are showing up on the scoreboard: dead-ball situations account for a bigger share of goals than at any point in the modern game.
The tactics themselves have grown more deliberate — blocking runs, near-post flick-ons, and choreographed decoy movement designed to drag markers out of position. Defences are scrambling to keep up.
The lesson for everyone else is simple: a single well-drilled routine can be worth as much as a marquee signing, at a fraction of the cost.
Frequently asked questions
Why are set-piece goals rising?
- Clubs are investing in dedicated coaches and treating set pieces as a repeatable, coachable source of goals rather than a lottery.
Which clubs do it best?
- Arsenal, Brentford and Nottingham Forest are among the sides who have turned dead balls into a genuine weapon.
Football writer
Stefan writes about football for Winlytics — tactics, transfers and the stories behind the results.
- Football writer
- Tactics & data