The Premier League is becoming increasingly unattractive due to dead-ball situations.

The rise of goals from set pieces, coupled with the explosion of VAR controversies, raises the question: Has the Premier League, the league that still prides itself on being the most exciting in the world, become uglier and less appealing than ever before?

Last weekend was still an entertaining round of Premier League fixtures. This was demonstrated by the 34 goals across 10 matches, with only one of those 10 games ending in a draw. However, one should not let those numbers obscure the reality that this season's Premier League has been dominated by dead-ball situations.

Dead-ball situations have become a trend in the Premier League.

To discuss this, let's start with the statement from Chelsea captain Reece James, who witnessed all three goals in the London derby between Arsenal and Chelsea originating from corner kicks: "This is the football of this year. Around 90% of goals come from set pieces. Arsenal is one of the top teams in the world in that regard." James is not alone in his thinking. A day earlier, Arne Slot also acknowledged the change in the Premier League, as three of Liverpool's five goals against West Ham came from corners: "This is the new reality of the Premier League this season."

The 90% figure in James's statement seems exaggerated, but the ascendancy of goals from dead-ball situations is real. A total of 138 Premier League goals have come from corner kicks, accounting for 17.6% of all goals this season. This figure is significantly higher than last season when goals from corners constituted only 12.5%. Broadening the scope, the proportion of goals from set pieces this season has reached 27.46%, much higher than last season's 20.5%. Conversely, open-play football is increasingly being undervalued by Premier League teams. After seven months of this season, Premier League clubs have scored only 505 goals from open play, the lowest figure since the 2020-21 season. This is a consequence of just 1,659 shots on target or 48,248 passes from open-play situations this season. All are the lowest numbers in recent years.

More and more teams are realizing that set pieces, including direct free kicks, corners, and penalties, present ideal opportunities to score goals. This is making Premier League football resemble a "wrestling match" more and more. If this is the prevailing football trend in the Premier League, it brings more negative signals than positive ones. The key point here is control. No one criticizes having a dedicated set-piece coach on the training staff. That is a wise innovation. However, overemphasizing set-piece situations in training sessions, instead of developing a collective that plays open, attacking football willing to take risks, will make football matches tedious.

What other issues exist in the Premier League?

Over-reliance on dead-ball situations is just one part of the Premier League's problems this season. England's top flight is witnessing disagreements over VAR, as well as time-wasting habits that are eroding actual playing time.

VAR technology is once again causing controversy in the Premier League, but this time it pertains to its implementation causing referees to take too much time to make decisions. In reality, it's simple: if an issue cannot be resolved within a minute, the referees should make the on-field decision themselves. There is a lack of decisiveness in handling VAR-related incidents. Unfortunately, the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) has been unable to provide an appropriate solution.

Consider the following two examples: Crystal Palace defender Maxence Lacroix received a red card and his team conceded a penalty when his foul was seen to have started outside the box. In a similar incident, Marc Guehi only received a yellow card and Manchester City escaped a penalty in their match against Liverpool.

Apart from VAR issues, the Premier League's appeal is diminishing due to the disease of time-wasting. Opta statistics show the average live-ball time per Premier League match this season is only 55 minutes and 27 seconds, accounting for 55.2% of the average match duration. This is the lowest ratio since the 2009-10 season. Matches seem shortened if dead-ball time and stoppage time are not counted. Too many factors, from tactical time-wasting to VAR, fill matches with dead time.