Liverpool: Arne Slot reveals key reason for 'impossible' Premier League title defence | OneFootball

The Reds’ boss made an honest admission about his side’s struggles and the state of the league

Arne Slot has said it is “impossible” for Liverpool to defend their Premier League title for one big reason.

The Reds won the league at a canter last season, finishing 10 points clear of chasers Arsenal, but this term they sit 15 points back from the table-topping Gunners at present and are instead battling for the Champions League spots.

None of those alone were the key reason highlighted by Slot for his side’s struggles in challenging for a second straight title, however.

Instead, the Dutchman said Liverpool’s “negative set-piece balance” makes it “impossible” to the win the league in the current climate.

“I have always said it is almost impossible to win a game of football with a negative set-piece balance,” Slot said, referring to the Reds having scored just eight total goals from set plays in the Premier League this season.

Among the lowest tallies in the English top flight, that pales in comparison to well-known set-piece kings Arsenal (18) as well as reborn Manchester United (15), with seven other teams in double digits and just six sides - including, notably, title challengers Manchester City (six) - scoring fewer times from dead-ball situations than Liverpool.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta and Gunners set-piece coach Nicolas Jover

Getty Images

The decline in attacking output from set plays has been happening for a few seasons, in fact, and in December the club parted ways with set-piece coach Aaron Briggs.

Making matters worse, and contributing to the “negative balance” aspect of Slot’s argument, is the fact that Liverpool have also conceded among the division’s most goals from set-pieces, letting in more than a dozen goals that way.

Slot continued: “I cannot stop talking about the importance of set pieces. It's every single day.

"You asked me in the past what the difference is between our performances in the Champions League and Premier League and the most simple answer is set pieces because in the Champions League we are top in set pieces and in the Premier League we are completely bottom. That reflects in the league table as well.”

This season has seen a surge in set-piece usage, arguably lead by Mikel Arteta’s league leaders who have leaned heavily on them for far longer, from long throw-ins to clear-cut corner routines, something Slot is acutely aware of.

"The current Premier League is so, so, so much more about set pieces than it was last season,” he said. “Even though I already found it very important, it has now gone through the roof in terms of how important it is.

"It is actually impossible to win the league if you have a set-piece balance like ours. You have to have plus five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, no matter what you do in open play, to have a chance to win the league."

Asked in Friday’s pre-FA Cup press conference about Liverpool managing to end Sunderland’s unbeaten home record earlier this week via a Van Dijk header from a corner, he added: "I would almost say that in the current Premier League it is the only attribute you should have - doing set pieces well.

Van Dijk headed in Liverpool’s winner against Sunderland on Wednesday

Liverpool FC via Getty Images

"It's vital that [Van Dijk] has already scored a few goals for us this season and definitely last season as well from set pieces. He's a big threat in the air offensively and defensively he's important for us not to concede. So yes, [he's] vital and I hope he will score many more for us in set pieces this season."

The Reds face Brighton in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday, and Slot will no doubt be keen to see his crew’s set-piece balance improve again then.