Championship Corners: Who Are the Most Dangerous Sides in 2024-25?
Corners can really hype up the fans. However, this season, less than 3% of them have resulted in a goal in the Championship. That said, some teams are more effective with corners than others. Let's dive into the statistics on corner kicks from the 2024-25 season so far.
There is significant attention given to the value of corner kicks. Supporters often feel a surge of excitement when their team earns one, and the anticipation for a goal in these set-piece moments tends to be surprisingly high, even though they typically don’t result in scoring.
José Mourinho once remarked, "Can you name any countries where a corner kick gets as much cheers as a goal? Just one—England. This is the only place where fans celebrate a corner like it’s a goal."
Scoring from corner kicks in the Championship has proven to be more challenging this season than in previous years, despite the fact that we're only about a third of the way through. So far, only 2.9% of corners have resulted in goals during the first play following the kick, marking the lowest percentage recorded in the last decade. Additionally, the share of overall goals in the Championship that originate from corner situations stands at just 12.4%, which is also the lowest in this timeframe.
A similar trend can be seen in the Premier League, where only 3.0% of corner kicks result in a goal, and 11.8% of goals this season have originated from corner scenarios as of 2024-25.
Although it's a trend worth monitoring as the campaign progresses, it might be premature to claim that corners are becoming less effective than in the past. Instead, let's focus on analyzing the specific teams and players who have excelled at taking corners this season, as well as those who have had difficulties at both ends of the field.
This season in the Championship, a total of 1,932 corners have been taken, but only 326 of these (which is 16.9%) resulted in the first touch after the corner being a shot on goal.
Corners provide a great chance to boost scoring chances since they allow a team to deliver the ball into a threatening position, regardless of how many defenders might be there. For certain teams, having more players in the box is advantageous. Arsenal, for example, has effectively taken advantage of corners in recent years under Mikel Arteta by crowding the six-yard area.
Throughout this season, 712 corners in the Championship (which makes up 36.8% of the total) have resulted in a shot being taken right after the corner kick. It’s important to note that the shot doesn’t need to be directly set up by the corner itself. Out of these attempts, 56 have ended in a goal, accounting for 2.9% of all corners.
It's important to note that players can take multiple shots during a corner situation. This season, a total of 809 shots have been made from corners. This figure indicates that 18.6% of all shots taken in the Championship this season stem from corners. Clearly, corners play a significant role in the game, but which teams are making the most of them?
Top Threats From Corner Kicks In Soccer
Certain teams show greater productivity than their counterparts. Luton Town tops the Championship rankings for corners, with the first action often resulting in a shot (30) and the highest number of corners that lead to at least one shot during that phase of play (47). Additionally, they have recorded the most shots resulting from corners overall (54). A significant portion of these have originated from Alfie Doughty's crosses.
Doughty has created chances that are nearly twice as valuable in expected goals (xG) as any other player in the Championship this season, with a total of 2.18 xG. Additionally, Luton has netted six goals from his corner kicks. He also tops the list for corners that result in at least one shot, with 45 to his name. However, these numbers are partly influenced by the fact that Luton’s full-back has taken 34 more corners than any other player in the league.
He delivers nearly all of Luton’s corner kicks, offering a threatening outswinging corner from the left and inswinging ones from the right side.
In the Championship, Luton (5.8%) falls short of Derby County (8.1%) when it comes to the percentage of corners that result in goals. The Rams have netted seven goals from their 86 corners, with Nathaniel Méndez-Laing responsible for seven of those, although only two were scored as an immediate result of the corner kick.
In terms of players who pose a threat during attacking corners, no one in the Championship has had more initial contact than Jimmy Dunne of Queens Park Rangers. He has been involved in 17 corners, while no other teammate has made the first touch as often—only reaching five times. However, only one of these instances resulted in a goal, when Dunne redirected a corner into the net with a flick at the near post during the 2-2 match against Sheffield United.
As we mentioned earlier about Luton’s corner situations this season, it’s no surprise that central defender Mark McGuinness has taken the highest number of shots from those set pieces, with 11 attempts so far. Unfortunately, he hasn’t managed to score from any of them yet.
Out of the 1,594 corners taken in the Championship this season (including a few short ones), most have been either inswinging or outswinging. In fact, only 25 have been classified as ‘straight’.
This season, 62% of the corners taken in the competition have been inswinging, and Watford has shown a particular preference for this style. Out of their 71 corner kicks, only one has been an outswinger. Notably, one of their inswinging corners resulted in a goal, with Edo Kayembe scoring directly from the corner in the first match of the season against Millwall.
Only seven teams have taken more outswinging corners compared to inswinging ones, with Oxford United leading the way at 69.2% of their corners being outswingers.
Hull City stands out as the only team in the Championship this season to take over 50% of their corners as short corners, accounting for 59.5% of their total (50 out of 84). While this strategy hasn't proven highly effective in generating quality shots—boasting a corner-related expected goals (xG) of just 1.92, which ranks fourth lowest in the league—they have still managed to net three goals from corner plays, all stemming from short corners. This total is higher than that of 11 other teams.
Corners Present Challenges For Sheffield Wednesday
This season, four clubs have yet to find the back of the net from a corner kick: Norwich City, Oxford United, Plymouth Argyle, and Sheffield Wednesday.
Among those teams, Sheffield Wednesday has the highest number of attempts without scoring at 104, surpassing the combined total of Oxford and Plymouth, which stands at 90. The Owls have made 32 shots during open play right after a corner but haven’t found the back of the net, and they've also taken 29 shots as the first action following a corner kick, again without success.
On the opposite side of the field, Danny Röhl's team has allowed a league-leading six goals from corners, tied with QPR, despite giving up only 70 corners in total, which ranks as the sixth least in the league. This indicates that 8.6% of the corners conceded by Wednesday this season have resulted in goals for the opposing teams, marking another league high.
Plymouth's performance during defensive corners has been disappointing, as they've let in five goals from a total of 109 corners faced. They’ve also given up the most shots in the league following corners, with a staggering 57 attempts, while their opponents have achieved the highest expected goals (xG) from these scenarios, tallying up to 1.73.
On the flip side, Oxford United boasts an impressive track record when it comes to defending against corners. Although they have had to defend more corners than any other team in the Championship this season, they have not allowed a single goal from those set pieces. They are one of just five teams, along with West Brom, Leeds, Sunderland, and Burnley, to achieve this feat.
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