Set-piece goals have played an enormous part in the success of Liverpool under Jürgen Klopp. The latest example occurred at Wembley on Sunday when the Reds won a second League Cup under the German.
The decisive goal came after Virgil van Dijk scored from a corner delivered by Kostas Tsimikas. The center-back also thought he’d scored in normal time when converting an Andy Robertson free-kick but the goal was disallowed.
The Reds have scored the most Premier League set-play goals of any club since Klopp came to England, finishing joint-top of the standings when winning the league four years ago. And who will ever forget the quickly taken corner that saw Liverpool through the 2019 Champions League semi-final against Barcelona? While not as dramatic, Divock Origi settled the final that season in the same situation too.
But the well has run a little dry in 2023/24, with Arsenal drawing plaudits for its prowess in dead-ball situations this season. Indeed, the Gunners took the lead and ultimately earned a point at Anfield when Gabriel Magalhães converted a set piece. After the first 23 league matches of the campaign, Liverpool had scored just five goals from set plays, its lowest rate-per-game since Brendan Rodgers’ final season in charge.
Perhaps in context, a drop-off was inevitable. Both Trent Alexander-Arnold and Robertson have been lethal with corners and free-kicks but have each spent time on the sidelines through injury. Similarly, while Dominik Szoboszlai should prove to be a dead-ball asset, he has not yet had as much opportunity to forge a bond with the teammates his deliveries will be hoping to find.
But things are looking up, and not just from the outcome at Wembley. Liverpool was losing to Luton in the previous match before scoring twice in a little over two minutes. Van Dijk was the man for the first goal once again, converting Alexis Mac Allister’s corner before the Argentine set up Cody Gakpo following a throw-in. Thomas Grønnemark must be proud.
Two of the goals in the 3-1 win over Burnley earlier this month came from corners too, Diogo Jota and Darwin Núñez doing the damage. Their goals were assisted by Alexander-Arnold and Harvey Elliott, showing that a lot of different players are contributing in set-piece situations
Mac Allister’s remarkable 125 seconds against the Hatters really gave his numbers a boost. He went from having no crossed assists this season to joint-15th in the Premier League standings. In some metrics, just two successes puts you on the brink of the elite.
While there is obviously some crossover with set plays, Liverpool’s potency from crosses is rising too. In the league win over Chelsea, Conor Bradley and Núñez set up Szoboszlai and Luis Díaz respectively with open play deliveries from wide areas.
Joe Gomez did likewise for Darwin in the preceding league game at Bournemouth which followed Mohamed Salah crossing for Gakpo to score against Newcastle. Liverpool got 20 crossed assists when winning the league in 2019/20, the most any club has recorded in a Premier League season in the Klopp era. If the Reds are to seal their manager’s final campaign with the league title, the reawakening of the team’s crossing and dead-ball ability could prove decisive.
Liverpool’s next match in pursuit of a 20th league crown sees it visit Nottingham Forest on Saturday afternoon. It lost the corresponding fixture last season despite generating four Opta-defined big chances, three of which came from set plays and two of which fell to Van Dijk. Klopp can be confident his side will take similar opportunities should they arise at the City Ground this weekend.
