Why Liverpool’s corners suddenly look different under Slot | OneFootball

Liverpool’s corner routines have undergone a subtle but important tactical change in recent weeks, and it may help explain why performances have begun to stabilise again ahead of the trip to Nottingham Forest.

Andrew Beasley, writing on his Substack, highlighted that the issue surrounding Arne Slot’s side this season has not primarily been open-play performance but set pieces.

“An uncomfortable truth for those that wish to see Arne Slot sacked by Liverpool is that his side have the best open play expected goal difference in both the Premier League and Champions League.”

That line matters because it shifts the conversation.

We have largely created chances, controlled matches and defended open play well enough, yet results earlier in the campaign frequently swung on dead-ball moments rather than tactical structure.

Beasley points to one central problem.

“The real issue in 2025/26 has been with set pieces. The Reds haven’t scored enough while paying a heavy price for the 14 they’ve conceded in the league.”

Liverpool corners after the coaching change

The club parted company with set-play coach Aaron Briggs late in December and, almost immediately, there was a visible change.

Recent matches have felt calmer when defending corners and more purposeful when attacking them, with the Sunderland winner from a Mo Salah delivery to Virgil van Dijk a clear example.

Beasley noted that broadcasters focused on a technical adjustment.

“Liverpool have used in-swinging deliveries far more often in recent weeks.”

However, the data analyst also warns against assuming a single explanation.

“It’s dangerous to assume that in-swinging corners are automatically better.”

That’s important because Liverpool’s history shows scoring from corners has always come in streaks rather than through one permanent method.

Earlier this year we went six matches without conceding from a set piece after the staffing change, which suggests organisation and positioning improved as much as delivery type.

Why the tactical tweak matters

(Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)

With last season’s set pieces being far from an issue and John Heitinga back on the market, there could be a clamour for his return.

Slot’s team has often looked structured between boxes, yet vulnerable at the moments when play stops.

Corners are unusual in football because they are rehearsed chaos.

The attacking side controls the starting positions, the defending side reacts, and the smallest blocking movement or run across the near post can change the outcome of a match.

Beasley’s numbers illustrate the pattern.

After just nine set-piece goals in the first 49 matches of last season, Liverpool suddenly scored in six consecutive games, and a similar run has recently happened again this campaign.

In other words, corners were not consistently poor – they were inconsistent.

That explains why the Brighton victory felt more comfortable than some earlier wins.

We are now creating pressure from dead balls rather than simply restarting play.

And if that improvement continues, it may be one of the quiet reasons Liverpool’s season still has momentum, because tight matches – especially away games like Nottingham Forest – are often decided not by flowing attacks, but by one delivery into the six-yard box.

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