Arne Slot pinpoints the ‘impossible’ obstacle standing in Liverpool’s way of another Premier League title

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has labelled the club’s current set-piece balance “impossible” for a title challenge and demanded a dramatic swing of “plus 10” if the Reds are to reclaim the Premier League trophy.

Speaking ahead of Friday’s media duties for the forthcoming FA Cup fourth-round tie with Brighton & Hove Albion, the Dutchman underlined set plays as the single biggest area for improvement after a season of frailty at both ends of the pitch.

“It’s actually impossible to win the league if you have a set-piece balance like ours,” Slot said. “You need to have plus five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10. To even, no matter what you do in open play, to have a chance to win the league.”

The numbers back up the manager’s frustration. Liverpool parted company with specialist coach Aaron Briggs in December after emerging as one of the weakest set-piece outfits among Europe’s leading divisions, routinely conceding from corners and free-kicks while struggling to convert their own opportunities.

Signs of recovery have flickered—most notably on Wednesday night when captain Virgil van Dijk powered in a second-half corner to decide a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Sunderland in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final. Yet Slot, who monitored the importance of dead-ball situations during his tenure in Dutch football, insists sporadic success is no longer acceptable.

Analyst and former Liverpool striker Michael Owen believes delivery remains the missing ingredient. “They parted with their set-piece coach and brought it more in-house,” Owen noted after the Stadium of Light encounter. “When you have players like Van Dijk and Konate you have real presence in the box and they should be scoring more from them. One of the problems for Liverpool is the delivery. They don’t have a Rice or Saka. That has had an impact on how many goals they score.”

The issue now moves to the forefront of Liverpool’s winter agenda. Saturday’s FA Cup clash with Brighton, televised live on TNT Sports 1 from 7 pm ahead of an 8 pm kick-off, offers an immediate stage to showcase any corrective work done on the training ground. Slot’s message is clear: unless the set-piece ledger swings heavily in Liverpool’s favour, hopes of a first league crown since 2020 will evaporate regardless of open-play dominance.