Analysing Liverpool’s set-piece success: Aiming for zones, lurking Salah and second-phase shots

When Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah scored against Inter Milan on Wednesday, they not only handed Liverpool a healthy advantage after the first leg in their Champions League last-16 tie but they also continued a fine club trend.

According to Opta, Liverpool have scored 23 goals from or following set pieces in all competitions this season, the joint-most in Europe, with Firmino’s header and Salah’s low strike their latest additions to a tally that does not include penalties.

That is five more than Manchester City have managed, and six more than Chelsea.

In the Premier League alone, Liverpool are also leading the way, having scored 14 times from set pieces. That is one more than they managed in the entirety of last season. They have five more in the Champions League, and the 19 goals scored across the two competitions already well exceeds the 13 they managed across them in 2020-21.

This not only puts them in first place in English football but in Europe’s top five domestic leagues they are joint leaders with Freiburg of Germany.

So, what is making Liverpool so successful from free kicks and corners?

The Athletic has analysed every set-piece goal they have scored this season to find out.

What we already know about Liverpool is that their meticulous approach to finer details is a contributing factor to the 101 set-piece goals they have scored in their six and a half years under Jurgen Klopp.

Assistant manager Peter Krawietz plays a key part in how they approach them and was the mind behind Liverpool’s newest routine, which worked wonders in San Siro in midweek.

The choreography for Firmino’s goal had been rehearsed on the training pitches at Kirkby on Tuesday. Krawietz, who leads a team of analysts, felt the near post was an area Liverpool could exploit against Italian champions Inter, and so it proved.

Andrew Robertson’s left-footed in-swinging corner from the right was met by Firmino, who had broken to the front of the pack to meet the ball first.

Since pre-season, Liverpool have been working with two neuroscientists, Dr Niklas Hausler and Patrick Hantschke. The pair have been attaching electrodes to players’ heads to measure their concentration levels. This helps them look for ways to improve each individual’s focus when it comes to dead-ball deliveries.

All of this work is paying off, with Liverpool boasting one of the best set-piece records in Europe. But the set-piece routines and the intriguing ways in which they set up for them also explain some of their success.

Four players in

Up until quite recently, there would always be four Liverpool players in the opponents’ penalty area for the majority of corners or indirect free kicks Klopp’s men have scored from this season.

Given the aerial ability of Virgil van Dijk, he has always been one of the players to make his way into the box. He will usually be joined by his centre-back partner for that given game, usually Joel Matip or Ibrahima Konate.

The other two members of the quartet are usually forwards. Two of Sadio Mane, Diogo Jota or Firmino are often present, while for Van Dijk’s goal against former club Southampton in November he was joined by Jota, Mane and Konate.

The trio crowded together as Van Dijk held back from making a similar run to theirs.

Trent Alexander-Arnold, who has registered four assists from set pieces this term, crossed the ball into the middle and Van Dijk was in the perfect spot to meet it.

This four-player routine becomes noticeable as you look through more of Liverpool’s set-piece goals.

At home to AC Milan in September’s Champions League group opener, just before Jordan Henderson scored the winner, there were four players (circled below) together in the box.

Against Crystal Palace in the Premier League a few days later, when Liverpool scored a hat-trick of set-piece goals in a 3-0 win, the same number of players were gathered inside the box as corners were being delivered.

In the Carabao Cup third round later in September, the same tactic was employed against Norwich City as four Liverpool players grouped together in the penalty area while four more of their team-mates waited just outside it.

More than four

There had been occasions when Liverpool had more than four players in the box. The fifth player usually waited on the edge of the box, or stood in an offside position to begin with, and waited to get involved in the second passage of play.

In recent weeks, however, Liverpool have altered their four-man approach to great effect. Instead of having just four players in the box awaiting a delivery, they are tending to instruct five or six players to get involved.

Against Brentford last month, for Fabinho’s opening goal just before half-time, there were five players in the box waiting for Alexander-Arnold’s cross.

In the 3-1 win away to Palace in January, the same tactic was employed as six Liverpool players lined up in the 18-yard box and just two waited on its edge.

A similar queue of six players was used in the build-up to Jota’s goal this month against Leicester City — seven if you count Thiago in the D.

As we can see in the above image, Luis Diaz was standing near goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel on that one.

This is something Liverpool have opted to do more of in recent games.

Henderson did the same thing when Fabinho scored against Burnley last weekend, as he stood right by Nick Pope.

Meanwhile, Diaz was hovering near Inter goalkeeper Samir Handanovic just before Firmino’s midweek opener.

Goals from the edge

Another source of success for Liverpool at set pieces is how they position themselves outside the area.

If Liverpool have four players in the box then, as mentioned, they will likely have four players outside of it. If they have five or six players in, there will be two or three waiting out with one man stationed back near the halfway line in case of emergency. Alisson often advances from goal to stand in the middle of his own half, in position to intercept any long clearances or collect backpasses.

“We have four players on the edge of the box if it drops out,” Alexander-Arnold told The Athletic recently when discussing the Van Dijk goal against Southampton mentioned above.

“That is something we have worked on this season to make sure, when balls drop out, they are hit straight back in there or we are getting shots off — like Naby (Keita) against Crystal Palace.”

As the ball popped out to Keita on that occasion, he had plenty of time and space to strike it first time.

This blockade of players on the edge of the box has been useful on plenty of occasions. It helps up-cycle opposition clearances into goals.

Henderson benefited in similar fashion to Keita that night in September when a Milan clearance was headed right into him.

As would be the case with Keita the following weekend, the England international was under little pressure when the ball popped out to him.

Thiago and Firmino have also profited from this routine, in the Champions League group stage games against Porto.

When the Portuguese side came to Anfield in November, a ball was cleared as far as Thiago who ran onto it and finished sublimely. Thiago at that point was actually the only Liverpool outfield player between Porto and Alisson when the corner was hit, which makes his speed and awareness all the more incredible.

In September’s reverse fixture, Curtis Jones’ shot from the edge of the box after a corner was blocked but found its way through to Firmino, who scored past Diogo Costa.

As we can see, it is well worth Liverpool leaving players on the edge of the box rather than instructing everyone to make their way into it. This keeps their set pieces dangerous beyond the arrival of the initial cross.

It also means the opposition are less likely to launch a counter-attack as Liverpool are not only set up to recycle the ball but to disable the opposition from countering.

Where is Mohamed Salah?

Three of Salah’s 24 goals this season have arrived following a set-piece delivery. Against Norwich on the opening day, at home to Palace in September and against Inter on Wednesday.

His positioning at set pieces is interesting.

In comparison to Mane, Jota and Firmino — Salah is often used as one of the players on the edge of the box. He is more deadly with the ball at his feet than when heading it, so if it drops out it makes sense for him to be there to attempt a shot or intricate pass.

This is not to say he is confined to the fringes of the opposition’s penalty area. For his goal against Palace, he was one of four players stationed inside it – but distanced himself from the other three.

This enabled him to peel off toward the back post and, when the ball was glanced through by Van Dijk, he was well placed to score.

When Van Dijk got that goal against Southampton, Salah was on the edge of the penalty area.

And he found himself in a similar position, just slightly further to the left, during the first game of the season against Norwich.

As Van Dijk and Matip jumped for the ball, it was cleared. Salah had time to set himself on his left before scoring his first goal of the season.

Signals

Liverpool have certain signals they use before they take a corner or free-kick.

Usually, one player who is in the box or wants the ball to be hit in a certain way will put one or both hands up in the air. Then the player taking the set piece will throw one or two hands up to match their signal in response.

At home against Palace, Salah raised both hands, which seemed to signal he wanted the ball to be delivered at the front post.

Kostas Tsimikas, who was taking the corner, responded with the same signal.

As the ball was delivered, Salah made a run to the front post and his header was saved well by Vicente Guaita.

Mane, who had made his way to the back post as Salah ran to the near, was then in a prime position to blast in from Guaita’s parry.

Ahead of Thiago’s long-range strike against Porto, Matip had raised one arm as a signal to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain before he whipped in a cross.

This suggested he wanted the ball played into the area between the six-yard box and penalty spot.

Alexander-Arnold confirmed to The Athletic that Liverpool aim for zones rather than individual players, even given the height of Van Dijk, Fabinho and others. And this particular zone in particular is a favoured target.

In this instance, Oxlade-Chamberlain’s attempted delivery into it was undercooked, but that worked out well for Thiago.

Against Newcastle United in December, Robertson waved one arm before planting a cross in to Konate in that same space near the penalty spot.

The initial ball was cleared by Newcastle but then swept up by Liverpool, who recycled it into a goal as Mane dinked a cross to Jota, who headed home.

This single-arm signal would appear to mean the ball will be aimed into that same zone, as it was against Cardiff City in the FA Cup two weeks ago when Jota scored with another header.

Even knowing what these gestures mean, or how many players operate in and out of the penalty area, or what zones Liverpool tend to deliver their set pieces into, it is still difficult to prevent this team from forging a chance on goal from them.

Liverpool have, and will always, score set-piece goals but this current frequency is frenetic. Opposition sides are struggling to stop them. They are not showing any signs of slowing down and, with 11 different goalscorers and seven unique assisters, it is proving to be the whole team who can hurt you.

Most set piece goals for Liverpool

Player	Goals
Fabinho	4
Diogo Jota	3
Mohamed Salah	3
Roberto Firmino	3
Sadio Mane	2
Trent Alexander-Arnold	2
Virgil van Dijk	2
Jordan Henderson	1
Naby Keita	1
Takumi Minamino	1
Thiago Alcantara	1