Tottenham scored ‘these many goals’ from set-pieces in the Premier League this season.
Amid the wreckage of one of the most turbulent Premier League seasons in Tottenham Hotspur’s modern history, OptaJoe has unearthed a statistical nugget that provides a rare and genuine source of encouragement as the club looks toward the future.
Tottenham scored 19 goals from set pieces in the Premier League this season, excluding penalties, their highest tally from dead-ball situations since the 1999-2000 campaign, when they managed 20, which remains their all-time record in the competition. In a season defined almost entirely by failure, dysfunction, and near-relegation, that number stands out as a meaningful positive that deserves acknowledgment.
The figure is particularly striking when placed alongside the club’s broader offensive struggles. A team that has been criticised relentlessly and legitimately for its inability to create and convert chances from open play, that has relied on individual moments of brilliance from players like Xavi Simons rather than any consistent attacking system, has simultaneously been finding ways to score at set pieces at a rate that approaches the best in the club’s Premier League history.
The practical implications of this are worth considering carefully as Roberto De Zerbi plans his summer rebuild. Set-piece proficiency does not happen by accident. It requires intelligent delivery, clever movement, physical presence, and the kind of consistent rehearsal on the training ground that produces repeatable outcomes in matches. The fact that Tottenham have excelled in this specific area even during their worst domestic season in over a century suggests that the structural foundations for effective dead-ball situations are already in place.
Pedro Porro has been highly impactful
It also points to the value of players like Pedro Porro, whose delivery from wide areas has been outstanding throughout the campaign, and the physical presence of defenders like Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven, who pose genuine aerial threats at the other end. If De Zerbi can add the open play creativity and consistency that the squad has lacked so badly, the set-piece threat already embedded in this group becomes an additional weapon rather than a primary one.
Nineteen goals from set pieces in a season that nearly ended in relegation is a paradox that says much about the nature of Tottenham’s problems. The tools for success exist in certain areas. What the summer must deliver is the quality across the rest of the pitch to match what the dead-ball statistics already show this squad is capable of.