In a parallel universe, one in which every throw-in, corner and free kick aimed at Liverpool’s penalty area is cleared with ease, Arne Slot would still be being quizzed on whether a successful defence of the Premier League title was possible.
Take away the 12 goals the champions have conceded from set pieces this season and there would be a swing of seven points, hoisting Slot’s side into third place, six points behind Arsenal having played a game less.
Back to reality and Liverpool are actually fourth, trailing by 13 points. That game in hand is on New Year’s Day against Leeds United, whose adeptness from dead-ball situations they know all too well.
It was at Elland Road just over three weeks ago that the champions’ fallibility at set pieces was exposed once more as they conceded from a 96th-minute corner, with Ao Tanaka unmarked at the back post.
Having led 2-0 and then 3-2, Liverpool departed with a 3-3 draw and two more points dropped. Slot’s mood was already anchored, even before Mohamed Salah’s post-match tirade.
Only Manchester United (13) have scored more goals from non-penalty set pieces than Leeds (12) and the visit of Daniel Farke’s side to Anfield comes with an additional subplot after Liverpool’s decision to part company with coach Aaron Briggs.
Briggs was officially appointed set-piece coach at the beginning of the season, having originally joined as first-team individual development coach in the summer of 2024.
Goals Liverpool have conceded from set pieces this seasonAugust 25 Bruno Guimarães (3-2 win away to Newcastle) Throw-inAugust 25 Will Osula (3-2 win away to Newcastle) Free kickSeptember 27 Ismaila Sarr (2-1 defeat away to Crystal Palace) CornerSeptember 27 Eddie Nketiah (2-1 defeat away to Crystal Palace) Throw-inOctober 19 Harry Maguire (2-1 defeat at home to Manchester United) CornerOctober 25 Dango Ouattara (3-2 defeat away to Brentford) Throw-inNovember 9 Nico González (3-0 defeat away to Manchester City) CornerNovember 22 Murillo (3-0 defeat at home to Nottingham Forest) CornerNovember 22 Morgan Gibbs-White (3-0 defeat at home to Nottingham Forest) Free kickDecember 6 Ao Tanaka (3-3 draw away to Leeds United) CornerDecember 20 Richarlison (2-1 win away to Tottenham Hotspur) CornerDecember 27 Santiago Bueno (2-1 win at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers) Corner
Liverpool had advertised for the role of a specialist set-piece coach 18 months ago to replicate what, for example, Nicolas Jover and Austin MacPhee have done at Arsenal and Aston Villa respectively, but did not end up filling the position.
Instead, Briggs, who previously worked at Manchester City, Monaco and Wolfsburg, stepped up and has now carried the can for what have been collective failings.
There has been no shortage of meetings at Liverpool’s training base to try to eradicate what has become a fundamental weakness. Briggs would back that up with further clips to individual players, but to no avail.
In their past two matches, against Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers, comfortable 2-0 leads have been undermined by more unimpressive defending, leaving Slot’s team relieved to hear the final whistle.
Curtis Jones, Dominik Szoboszlai and Konaté are part of a Liverpool side that has struggled to defend set pieces this season
PETER BYRNE/PA
Liverpool’s issues cannot solely be attributed to a lack of organisation or understanding of what they are supposed to be doing — although the image of Alexis Mac Allister running towards the bench, shouting “Aaron” and looking confused after a set piece in the 3-0 loss against Manchester City at the Etihad showed not everyone was attuned to what they were meant to be doing all of the time.
A lack of aggression in defensive situations has been obvious — Briggs cannot make a defender want to head the ball. Virgil van Dijk, the captain, said at the weekend that the failure to react to the second phase has been the “killer”.
Indeed, of the 12 set-piece goals Liverpool have conceded — three from throw-ins, seven from corners and two from free kicks — none came via the first contact at a set piece, which points to players switching off as much as anything.
Harry Maguire’s winner for United at Anfield back in October served as a case in point. A short corner was cleared back to Bruno Fernandes, who volleyed a cushioned pass to the back post where Maguire was one of three United players looking to profit above Ibrahima Konaté.
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Responsibility for set pieces will now fall on Slot and his remaining coaches, Sipke Hulshoff and Giovanni van Bronckhorst, and as well as keeping goals out there needs to be an improvement in scoring from set plays.
Liverpool have managed only three goals from that source and their set-piece differential is -9, which is the worst in the top flight.
Taking xG into account, it should only be -1.6. Their xG from non-penalty set pieces is 4.3 and xG against is 5.9, which highlights how bad luck has also played a part in matters conspiring against Slot’s side.
Briggs, left, has departed so set-piece duties are now in the hands of Hulshoff, second from left, and Van Bronckhorst, third from left
ANDREW POWELL/LIVERPOOL FC VIA GETTY IMAGES
That suggests an improvement could be possible without doing too much differently, a favourable bounce of the ball for instance — something that will not be lost on Briggs.
The announcement that the present staff will oversee set pieces for now does not rule out a future appointment of a specialist, and looking back at Liverpool’s original advertisement for the job shows how they, at one time, felt it to be key.
There were 15 bullet points that the successful applicant, a Uefa A License coach (or equivalent), would be entrusted with carrying out.
Included were aspects such as “designing defensive strategies to counter opponents’ set-piece threats” and “coach players on defensive positioning, marking assignments and tactical approaches to defending set pieces.”
Liverpool have scored three league goals for set pieces this season
ALEX PANTLING/UEFA VIA GETTY IMAGES
Another related to “assuming a leadership role on match days, communicating pre-game strategy, analysing the opponent’s defensive set pieces in real time, and suggesting adjustments to maximise scoring opportunities”.
It is such an exhaustive role that Liverpool need to make a permanent appointment at some point, although the lack of specialists means there is not a deep pool of talent from which to recruit.
When the influence of Jürgen Klopp and his assistant, Pepijn Lijnders, was at its strongest, Liverpool turned to a German company called neuro11 to help players “get in the zone” and finesse their work from direct free kicks, wide free kicks, penalties and corners.
After the penalty shoot-out victory over Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final in 2022, when Liverpool converted 11 successful spot kicks, neuro11 founders Dr Niklas Häusler and Patrick Häntschke were pictured with the trophy and Klopp hailed their impact.
Hantschke, left, and Häusler celebrate with the Carabao Cup after Liverpool’s 2022 triumph
X/NEURO11
However, members of the present Anfield hierarchy were far more sceptical of the benefits of working with the company and that relationship ended, albeit with far less scrutiny than the exit of Briggs.
Leeds will see every corner and free kick as an opportunity. Belatedly, Liverpool must move away from a situation where they resemble an ordeal.
Liverpool v Leeds United
Thursday, 5.30pm
TV Sky Sports Main Event