Napoli manager Luciano Spalletti took to his post-match press conference to praise Liverpool’s ability to exploit set-pieces, claiming they’re very difficult to defend against.
With just five minutes of normal time remaining, substitute Darwin Nunez met a corner kick with a powerful header, for which goalkeeper Alex Meret struggled to parry away. Pouncing on the loose ball, Mohamed Salah slotted the ball home, putting the Reds ahead.
In the closing moments of extra time, Liverpool capitalised on another corner, as Nunez tapped in the ball after a strong Virgil van Dijk header was saved, guaranteeing the win and the Reds’ round of 16 qualification.
Taking to his post-match press conference, Spalletti spoke of Liverpool’s dominance from set-pieces, which ultimately led to Napoli’s downfall.
“It’s really difficult from set plays, particularly when you’re playing a big team – a team where they have big players,” he said.
“And I think in recent games they’ve won 10, 12 corners every single game, particularly at home.
“You know it’s one of their strengths, set plays, and they exploit them.
“It’s one of their main features I think and they’re good at them.”
Spalletti praises Liverpool’s set-pieces
Having the likes of Van Dijk and Joel Matip in the squad has meant Liverpool have been dominant in the air for years now, with corners seen as a real goal-scoring opportunity for Jurgen Klopp’s side.
Adding aerial threats in Ibrahima Konate and Darwin Nunez to their ranks, the Reds now have a plethora of players to exploit when sending set-pieces into the opposition’s box.
For example, the French defender ranks in the top ten percent for headers won and in the top seven percent for non-penalty goals scored (via FBRef) – illustrating a direct correlation evident between the two statistics.
When playing in the Champions League, Liverpool are able to exploit their powerful players from set-pieces far more, as opponents are often much smaller and less physical than teams they face in the Premier League.
Whilst this dominance will continue to be a strong outlet for the Merseyside club to capitalise upon continentally, Klopp will know his side cannot become over-reliant on the tactic in the English game.
Consequently, it may be worrying to think that, once again, Liverpool went without scoring from open play. This has seemingly started to become a trend in recent seasons, with the free-flowing goals from Salah, Roberto Firmino and the departed Sadio Mane often a distant memory.
Having said that, an impressive performance against Napoli yesterday was a breath of fresh air after the sides embarrassing recent defeat to Leeds.
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