Liverpool Find Their Edge from Set Pieces Under Slot

There was a time this season when a throw-in near Liverpool’s penalty area felt like a storm warning. Chaos loomed. Panic set in. Points slipped away. Yet on a cold afternoon against Nottingham Forest, the script flipped. Joe Gomez went short, patience replaced panic, and Alexis Mac Allister forced home a late winner born from a throw-in routine. Small detail, big consequence.

As reported by Andy Jones in the Athletic, Liverpool have been wrestling with their set-piece balance all season. Now, at last, they appear to be winning the fight.

Set Pieces Shift Momentum for Liverpool

For months, Arne Slot spoke about dead-ball discipline with the urgency of a manager who knew his team’s margins were thin. “The current Premier League is so much more about set pieces than it was last year,” Slot said. “It is actually impossible to win the league with a balance like ours.”

He was right. Early in the campaign, Liverpool scored eight and conceded 13 from set pieces in 27 matches. Worse still, the Premier League numbers were grim: three scored, 12 conceded. That is not just a flaw. That is a season-defining weakness.

Changes followed. Set-piece coach Aaron Briggs departed in December, analyst Lewis Mahoney took a larger role, and the numbers turned. Nine scored, two conceded in 13 matches. Momentum restored. Confidence regained.

It was not dramatic reinvention, either. “We maybe made one or two slight changes, but we didn’t change much,” Slot admitted. Sometimes football is not about revolution; it is about repetition done properly.

Defensive Discipline Returns

Statistics tell a story here. Liverpool conceded an expected goals total of 6.1 from set pieces in their first 18 league matches but actually shipped 12. That is misfortune mixed with poor execution. Since the tweaks, opponents are still creating similar chances, yet Liverpool have conceded just twice.

Slot called it bad luck earlier in the season. He may have had a point.

“Every ball went in,” he said, reflecting on that rough patch. “We hardly gave away a chance… but things going back to normal now, it’s something we expected.”

Watching Liverpool now, there is less chaos in second phases, sharper reactions to loose balls, and more clarity in zonal marking. Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate still marshal the six-yard box, but midfield runners now track danger earlier. Margins matter.

Attacking Ideas Bring Rewards

If defence has stabilised, Liverpool’s attacking set pieces have begun to hum.

Inswinging corners aimed at the six-yard box are the headline change. Deliveries from Salah, Szoboszlai and Gakpo now crowd goalkeepers, forcing mistakes. From Sunderland to Marseille, Liverpool have found goals through smarter planning rather than brute force.

Van Dijk explained the thinking after one success: “It was something we talked about… punching under pressure is never great. So we knew there could be some interesting ones in the second phase as well.”

Liverpool are now averaging more set-piece shots per 90 and outperforming expected goals. Free-kick routines have produced moments of craft. Szoboszlai’s strike against Manchester City showed technique; clever lay-offs against Bournemouth and Qarabag showed preparation.

These are not lucky breaks. These are rehearsed outcomes.

Slot Era Defined by Marginal Gains

Every title race is shaped by moments most fans forget. A near-post flick. A zonal run. A late throw-in routine. Slot understands this.

Liverpool’s Champions League form, where they have been dominant at set pieces, proves what discipline can deliver. In England’s tighter, more physical contest, those lessons have finally taken root.

Set pieces are not glamorous. They are not viral clips or highlight reels. But they win leagues. Slot knows it. Liverpool are learning it.