In Liverpool’s 3-2 loss away to Brentford last Saturday, the opener for the Bees came from a long throw by Michael Kayode, which unlocked the away side’s defence and allowed Dango Ouattara to score at the back post.
The set-piece trend has taken the Premier League by storm and it has quickly rocked the champions, as they have seen half of their total goals conceded come from a set-play.
Meanwhile, Liverpool’s title rivals Arsenal are flying high at the top of the table having scored 16 goals and shipped just three-with much of their goal difference coming from corners.
Mikel Arteta’s side have mastered the corner kick in recent seasons, with Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka whipping in curling crosses that loom over the goalkeeper, and Gabriel attacking them like a freight train to thump in a header.
Arsenal are so supreme with their set-pieces that they are now the only team in the league who have scored more goals from corners or throw-ins than any other goal from open-play.
However, Liverpool have scored the same total of goals as their title rivals but have just one from set-plays, compared to the Gunners’ nine in the same number of games.
There are many factors which have contributed to Arne Slot’s failures this season so far, new players taking time to settle in, Mohamed Salah not firing, but there is no doubt that the set pieces have played a huge part too.
Set-pieces aren’t just proving to be effective at the top of the table, though.
Last weekend, 12 of the 32 total goals scored across all the games came from set pieces, showing that no matter the opposition every team is trying to upset their opponents with long throws or deep corners into the box.
In a hypothetical scenario where set-pieces don’t exist, Arsenal sit outside of the top four in fifth place, having eight less points than in reality and have a much smaller goal difference at four to the good.
The anti-set-piece table is much kinder to Liverpool, as they are up from seventh place in this scenario to third position, being held out by Spurs at the top and Manchester City, who are on the same points but ahead on goal difference.
One could argue that Arsenal’s imperious defence is the main reason for their success this season, but this hypothetical league table clearly shows that they are utilizing set-plays to their advantage in a much better way than the Reds.
This is food for thought for Slot, whose side showed their ability to utilize corners against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League, so there is potential for them to join the party.
