Arne Slot says blaming former Liverpool coach would be unfair

Liverpool’s dramatic upturn in set-piece fortunes has coincided with the departure of specialist coach Aaron Briggs last December, yet manager Arne Slot insists it would be “very unfair” to pin the earlier struggles solely on the former staff member.

Club data show that while Briggs was in post, Liverpool shipped 13 goals and scored only eight from dead-ball situations, leaving them with a minus-five differential. Since the club opted not to replace Briggs for the remainder of the 2025-26 campaign, the Reds have converted eight set-piece chances and conceded just two, flipping the balance to plus-six over roughly half a season.

Speaking ahead of Sunday’s pivotal visit to Nottingham Forest, Slot accepted collective responsibility for the earlier woes. “It would be very unfair to Aaron as he was partly responsible, but it’s ultimately mine,” he said. “We were so, so unlucky in that period. We had multiple chances to score. Things have gone back to normal now, which we expected. In the Champions League with Aaron with us we were number one in set-pieces. I would just say things have gone back to normal.”

The Dutchman added that the squad is “happy with the way things are” but confirmed the backroom team remains under review: “We are always looking for ways to strengthen the staff.”

Liverpool have backed up their set-piece resurgence with consecutive league victories, trimming Manchester United’s cushion at the summit to three points. A positive result at the City Ground would pull Slot’s men level with the leaders before United play their game in hand later in the week.

Slot also suggested that stylistic differences in recent opponents have played a role in the team’s improved performances. “The teams we previously faced haven’t been as entertaining as the teams we have recently faced,” he noted. “For such a large part of a season where we’ve lost or drawn, we didn’t deserve it. The amount of times we’ve created more than enough chances has been a lot. You could argue if we created a lot of chances against Brighton, but we scored three. Things have gone a bit more back to normal.”

With momentum building and a title race tightening, Liverpool’s reinvigorated set-piece department could prove decisive in the run-in.