Van Dijk Opens Up on Set-Piece Problems After Liverpool Concede the Most in the Premier League
Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool captain, has spoken candidly about an ongoing issue that continues to trouble the Reds this season: defending set pieces and second balls. It has become a decisive factor in several matches under Arne Slot, with Liverpool conceding as many as 12 goals from set-piece situations in all competitions this season—the joint-highest tally in the Premier League alongside Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest—highlighting a persistent, structural problem rather than a one-off lapse.
In last Saturday’s league match, Liverpool edged past Wolverhampton Wanderers 2–1, but once again conceded from a corner kick, as Santiago Bueno capitalised to score. A week earlier, Richarlison had also punished the Reds after a corner was not properly cleared, allowing the opposition to sustain pressure and eventually find the net.
Van Dijk admitted that while Liverpool have defended set pieces well in several matches, the hard truth is that they are conceding far too many goals from these situations—and, conversely, scoring too few themselves. “There are many games ALLUFA where we defend set pieces really well, but the fact is we concede too many from them, and we don’t score enough,” said the Dutch centre-back. He stressed that the real weakness is often not the first contact, but the failure to deal with second balls during chaotic moments in the penalty area. “At least 75%, or maybe even more, it’s not about the first ball at all—it’s the second ball that decides it.”
When asked whether the issue is psychological, Van Dijk was keen to dismiss the idea of it becoming a mental block. He warned that fear or overthinking on the pitch would only make the problem harder to fix. Statistically, excluding penalties, Liverpool have scored just three goals from set pieces in the league, leaving them with a goal difference of -9 from such situations—the worst figure the club has recorded in a Premier League season. Van Dijk emphasised that the only solution is hard work on the training ground, something the squad has already begun to prioritise. “It’s not good enough—we all know that. We’ve spoken about it, and we have to change it. That’s why we’re working on it in almost every training session.”
Liverpool’s latest win marked their third consecutive league victory, lifting them up to fourth place in the table and keeping them firmly in the race for European qualification. However, the Reds are well aware that unless they resolve their recurring issues from set pieces, costly dropped points could occur again at any moment as the season reaches its decisive stages.
