Leeds United manager Jesse Marsch has claimed that Liverpool have been ‘incredibly effective’ from set-pieces this season.
Marsch takes his out-of-form Leeds side to Anfield tomorrow in search of a first win in nine games. And speaking to the press ahead of the game via Vital Leeds, Marsch admitted that it will be difficult to match Liverpool.
“The weaknesses in Liverpool…[Laughs]. It’s not that we see a weakness in them, it’s can we challenge them in the intensity in which we play and with the ball can we limit them as much as possible,” explained the American. “Can we limit them on set-plays where they’ve been incredibly effective, and can we not let them get out on the counter and can we find more situations where we can get out on the counter.
“Both teams like to play on the counter and they’re one of the most lethal in the world at that. I wouldn’t describe Liverpool as having weakness, I’d try to say we will have a game plan and we will try to stick to it. We will try to execute it to the best of our ability to give ourselves the best chance in the match.”
Liverpool are not in stellar form themselves right now. More dropped points against a side who have lost four on the bounce would be incredibly disappointing.
Liverpool still the set-piece kings
When you think of this Liverpool side over the last however many years, set-pieces aren’t the first thing that comes to mind.
Nevertheless, it’s true that Liverpool have been consistently effective at scoring from dead ball situations.
It was only Wednesday that they showcased this most recently. This time it was Darwin Nunez stooping to steer a beautiful header into the net away at Ajax.
When you’ve got players like Nunez, Virgil Van Dijk and Joel Matip attacking corners, you should be scoring plenty. All three have already benefitted from the deliveries of Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas this season.
But there is another side to Liverpool’s effectiveness from set-pieces, too. They also do a pretty good job of turning opposition corners and free-kicks into chances for themselves.
How often have we seen Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane breaking on teams who have had aimless balls into the box cleared immediately.
The most recent example of this came in the win over Manchester City at Anfield. Many in the stadium would have had hearts in mouths as Kevin De Bruyne swung a free-kick in from a dangerous area. But within seconds, the ball was in the back their net.
We may not have seen this enough over the course of the current season. But Marsch’s words are a reminder of just how devastating Liverpool can still be.
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