Pep Guardiola gestures on the touchline during Manchester City’s Premier League match.
The Premier League has been buzzing with discussions about set pieces—and how they’ve become a major source of goals this season. Interestingly, while many teams have found success from dead-ball situations, Manchester City and their manager Pep Guardiola are standing firm on their footballing philosophy.
So far, Arsenal have been the most in-form side in England’s top flight, sitting comfortably at the top of the table. However, rival fans have noticed something peculiar — a huge chunk of their goals this season have come from set pieces rather than open play.
Despite this, the overall goals-per-game average in the Premier League has dropped to 2.6 per match, the lowest since 2017. Even more concerning, the ball has been in play for just 55 minutes on average per game, highlighting a slower and more tactical approach in most fixtures.
For Guardiola, though, the solution isn’t to abandon his principles. The City boss, whose team are the only side yet to score from a set piece this season, remains committed to attacking football built on open play.
“Every manager does what they believe,” Guardiola said. “I want to score from free kicks and corners — I’m not naive to that. But I spend my time on what we have to do to play better, attack better, and create chances. To score goals.”
His comments came after City’s recent 2–1 loss to Aston Villa, where they conceded a late winner from a corner. Yet Guardiola believes the best way to defend set pieces is by controlling games and limiting the opponent’s opportunities to win them in the first place.
“I will, until the end, continue to work mainly on our game,” he added. “And sometimes adapt, when we have to do it.”
After the Villa defeat, Manchester City will shift focus to their Carabao Cup clash against Swansea, as they aim to return to winning ways. With Guardiola’s emphasis on structure, ball control, and movement, the coming weeks will test whether City can maintain their trademark style — or if the Premier League’s growing set-piece trend will eventually force even Pep to adapt.
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