Liverpool put in a great first-half performance, scoring three goals from set pieces in the chaos against relegation contenders West Ham, winning 5-2.
Arne Slott’s side, who have been criticized for their ineffective set pieces this season, found the back of the net three times from corner kicks, with Hugo Ekitike, Virgil van Dijk and Alex Mac Allister outscoring Mads Hermansen.
It was a masterclass in set-piece efficiency, with each goal coming from a different creator and revealing just how terrible the Hammers are at defending dead-ball situations. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side have conceded a league-high 15 goals from corners this season, making it only the second time they have conceded three from corners, having conceded the same amount to Chelsea in August.
Virgil van Dijk scores his third league goal of the season
What was once a similar weakness for the host is now a superstrength, although it remains vulnerable in other areas. Early in the second half, El Hadji Diouf and Tomas Soucek combined on the counter to give West Ham a lifeline, and Liverpool were once again in charge when Valentin Castellanos was free at the back post from a corner kick. Fortunately, it wasn’t a big deal for them.
Codi Gakpo missed a sitter before scoring Liverpool’s fourth goal, and as the match stretched on in the closing stages, Jeremy Frimpong forced Axel Disasi’s own goal. West Ham’s predicament at the bottom of the table remains uncertain, but Slott’s side have replaced Chelsea in fifth place, with European qualification looking a long way off.
Jeremy Frimpong scored the fifth goal late on as West Ham were starting to tire.
Slots finally introduce the set-piece revolution
Laura Hunter on Sky Sports at Anfield:
By the time they led 3-0 at half-time, Liverpool had scored seven consecutive goals from set-pieces in the Premier League. This is the longest record in the history of the tournament. And yet, it feels like just yesterday we were slamming that aspect of their game as outdated. They had the worst record in Europe.
Arne Slott and his technical staff worked their magic on the training ground, as almost overnight Liverpool became as dangerous as Arsenal from set-pieces. If this formula had been discovered sooner, Aaron Briggs might still have had a job.
The three corner goals in recent fixtures were helped in no small part by West Ham’s abysmal incompetence in this particular area. The Hammers consistently allowed first contact with the ball inside their own six-yard area without intervention.
Virgil van Dijk is the second highest scoring central defender in the Premier League
Manager Matheus Fernandes told Sky Sports’ Full Time that his side have been working all week on a plan to stop Virgil van Dijk, who is currently the second-highest scoring central defender in Premier League history behind John Terry. It had no effect.
“In some games, when the game is deadlocked and you know you can score from set-pieces – which you haven’t been able to do in other situations – it’s very important,” Kodi Gakpo said after the match.
This was a new level unleashed on Liverpool’s relief mission, and Slott was quick to comment on the team’s lack of consistency in open play. “I don’t think it was our best game of the season from the exhibition game,” he admitted. “Set pieces can make a big difference.” In this case, they made the difference.
The outlook for slots is ‘much brighter’
Liverpool head coach Arne Slott:
“The most important thing is that we scored three goals from set-pieces. I’m very happy and that’s why we won. Even when we lost, we played well overall. But things have returned to normal. At the beginning of the season we scored from set-pieces, we conceded in that way, and today the opposite happened. We started scoring from set-pieces and things look much brighter.”
On why set-pieces have improved: “Almost everything is back to normal. We were unlucky so far. Even today we concede goals from set-pieces. Maybe one or two small details have changed defensively and offensively. Our set-up is a little different.”
“There was never a moment when they were close to a goal. They weren’t under any real threat, but you could feel the tension in the stadium. That’s understandable because they’ve given up comfortable leads so many times this season.”
“We’re still creating chances, but now they’re coming. Suddenly, things look a lot better.”
Nuno liked the performance but regrets the set-piece mistakes
West Ham manager Nuno Espirito Santo
“It would be silly to say it was a good performance when we were losing 5-2, but there are a lot of positives in our game, and a lot of negatives too. “When you go to half-time, the players are in front of you and I’m saying, ‘You guys are playing well,’ but we’re losing 3-0.
“We created a lot of situations and linked up well, but we made mistakes on set pieces. We started the second half well and it caused problems for Liverpool. It may sound silly to say it was a good performance, but that’s what I saw. I saw a team that didn’t give up and believed. A poor result.”
