London, Dec 28: Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has acknowledged that his side’s ongoing struggles defending set-pieces are proving costly, describing the problem as something that “hurts” and labelling the second phase of dead-ball situations as a “killer” for the team.
Despite Liverpool securing a 2-1 Premier League victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers at Anfield on Saturday, the familiar issue resurfaced when Santiago Bueno found the net from a corner. It followed a similar lapse a week earlier, when Tottenham Hotspur forward Richarlison scored after Liverpool failed to deal with a corner, underlining a recurring weakness that has plagued Arne Slot’s side this season.
Statistically, the concern is stark. Liverpool have now conceded 12 goals from set-pieces in the league, the joint-highest tally in the Premier League alongside Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest. At the other end of the pitch, their output from such situations has been limited, compounding the problem.
“There have been plenty of games when we have defended set-pieces very well,” Van Dijk said after the Wolves match. “But the fact is we’ve conceded too many set-piece goals and we don’t score enough. That’s something we have to improve.”
The Dutch centre-back pointed to lapses after the initial clearance as the main issue rather than the first contact in the box. “I would say at least 75% of the time, or even more, it’s not about the first contact,” he explained. “It’s the second phase that is the killer.”
Asked whether the problem was psychological, Van Dijk was keen to play down that suggestion. “Is it a mental thing? I hope not. If that’s in your head, then it’s an issue. Personally, it’s not in my head,” he said.
Liverpool’s numbers further highlight the imbalance. Excluding penalties, they have scored just three goals from set-pieces in the league this season. The resulting set-piece goal difference of minus nine is their worst return across a Premier League campaign.
“We have defended so many set-pieces very well,” Van Dijk added. “But we’ve conceded too many goals like that and it hurts. We have to improve that. Training is the only way to get better at it. It’s not been good enough — we all realise that. We’ve spoken about it, and we need to turn it around. That’s why we work on it almost every training session.”
Manager Arne Slot echoed his captain’s concerns, admitting that set-pieces remain an area of clear weakness. “Unfortunately, we’re maybe the only team that hardly ever scores from a set-piece and, even worse, we constantly concede,” Slot said.
However, the Liverpool head coach also highlighted a positive development in his side’s ability to grind out results despite such setbacks. “I said two, three or four weeks ago that when things go against us — whether it’s a set-piece or something else — we still need to find a way to win,” he noted. “In the last two games, we conceded from a set-piece but were still able to win. That hasn’t happened many times this season.”
Slot described that resilience as progress but admitted there is still significant work to be done. “That’s progress for me, but it’s obvious there are more things for us to improve, and this is definitely one of them. We’ve been unlucky in multiple situations from set-pieces, but it’s 18 games now and we need to improve.”
Liverpool’s victory over Wolves marked their third consecutive league win, lifting them to fourth place in the Premier League table. While the results have steadied, both players and coaching staff are acutely aware that addressing their vulnerability at set-pieces could prove crucial as the season moves into its decisive phase. (Agencies)
