Dead Ball Slowly Brings Liverpool Back to Life

LIVERPOOL, FRIDAY - Liverpool's decision to change their set-piece coach in the middle of the season has proven to be very effective. Set pieces, which have haunted them since the beginning of the season, are now starting to become a lethal weapon for the team. Their next opponent, Brighton and Hove Albion, should be on alert.

Liverpool will host Brighton in the fourth round of the FA Cup at Anfield Stadium on Sunday (15/2/2026) at 03:00 WIB. Although still overshadowed by a bitter defeat to Manchester City in their last home match, Liverpool's coach Arne Slot is not overly concerned.

Slot's confidence has emerged due to the significant rise in Liverpool's set-piece trends, particularly from corner kick schemes. They have successfully created three goals from this scheme in their last four league matches. In contrast, during the first 22 weeks of the league, they only scored one goal from a corner kick.

Slot believes that open play is no longer the most important aspect of football. "If we reflect on the league standings, set pieces have a greater impact compared to last season. I dare say that the ability to execute set pieces well is the only attribute that must be possessed in the English League," he stated.

Liverpool does not appear to be the defending league champion this season, partly due to issues with set pieces. They recorded a significant deficit in goals scored and conceded from set piece situations, 8-14. No team in the league has recorded a larger deficit than "The Reds" in this aspect.

Fortunately, the problem has begun to ease recently. Liverpool's decision to release set-piece coach Aaron Briggs at the end of December 2025 was very appropriate. This role was taken over by Lewis Mahoney at the beginning of the year. His influence has been strongly felt by Virgil van Dijk and his teammates.

In the last match, Liverpool even won against Sunderland 1-0 away with a solitary goal from a corner kick scored by Van Dijk. Notably, Sunderland was the only team in the league that had not been defeated at home. Liverpool broke that record.

A shift in corner kick strategy was evident in Liverpool's camp. They began to follow the league trend of executing corner kicks using the inswinger, or swing-in pass. Van Dijk's goal against Sunderland came from a Mohamed Salah pass that swung in.

In the inswinger pass theory, left-handed players typically take corner kicks on the right side. Vice versa. As a result, the ball appears to move outward first, then curve towards the goal. Liverpool then switched their execution positions, with Salah on the right and Dominik Szoboszlai on the left.

Liverpool's change in set-piece strategy was immediately apparent before their match against Bournemouth in late January, when they scored from a corner kick. Liverpool's inswinger pass percentage has risen sharply in their last four matches, to 82.5 percent, compared to the previous 22 matches (49.4 percent).

The results were highly effective. According to Sky Sports, Liverpool's goal conversion rate increased elevenfold, from 0.8 percent to 8.8 percent. This strategy proved ideal for exploiting Van Dijk's superior aerial skills. The defender's presence created chaos in front of the opponent's goal.

Two of Liverpool's last three corner kick goals were scored by Van Dijk. Both were inswinger passes, assisted by Salah and Szoboszlai, respectively. "He's a huge aerial threat, both in attack and defense. He's vital for us, and I expect more set-piece goals from him," said Slot.

The use of the inswinger technique has become increasingly dominant in England. Evidently, of all corner kick attempts in the league so far, the number of inswinger passes far outnumbers the outswinger, or swinging outwards, 1,810 - 361 times. The goal conversion rate from inswingers is also much better, 5.02 percent - 3.6 percent.

Brighton should be wary of the home team's new weapon. The team coached by Fabian Hurzeler is indeed very reliable in defending against set-piece situations. Brighton has only conceded five goals from set pieces, the fewest in the league. However, that cannot be a guarantee. Sunderland, which is strong in set pieces, has already fallen victim.

Hurzeler stated that the visit to Anfield will be very challenging not only because of the opposing team. Brighton is also struggling with a poor trend of five matches without a win, including consecutive losses in the last two matches. Therefore, the upcoming match is very important to restore the players' confidence.

"Fans deserve a better result. We have tried to do many things right on the field, such as defending well and creating opportunities, but it has not been enough. We should have been able to achieve a better result if we had been consistent in terms of performance," said Hurzeler.

The biggest dilemma for Slot in the upcoming match is player selection. They cannot make significant rotations due to an unfavorable draw. Liverpool must face Brighton, while many other Premier League teams are meeting with teams from lower divisions.

The problem is that Liverpool is experiencing a player crisis due to a wave of injuries. Szoboszlai, who was previously suspended from the last match due to a red card, is now available to play. However, they have to cope with the loss of midfielder Wataru Endo, who was injured at home against Sunderland.