Jamie Carragher has joked that Chelsea could fire their set-piece coach after the Blues’ 2-2 draw with Bournemouth on Tuesday night. This comes after his old team Liverpool let their own set-piece coach Aaron Briggs leave the club recently.
Enzo Maresca’s team notably gave up two goals from long throw-ins at Stamford Bridge. David Brooks and Justin Kluivert both took advantage of dead-ball deliveries to tie the game after Cole Palmer’s penalty and Enzo Fernandez’s goal had given Chelsea the lead.
After a long throw-in was flicked on, Brooks scored the first goal. Sanchez saved his header at first, but Brooks put the ball in from point-blank range. Palmer scored from the penalty spot to tie the game, and then Fernandez scored to put Chelsea ahead.
However, an unmarked Kluivert scored from close range at the back post after another high throw into the penalty area to tie the game. Carragher’s comment that Chelsea might fire their set-piece coach was clearly sarcastic, especially since Bernardo Cueva has done so well since joining from Brentford.
Chelsea are fifth in the Premier League for non-penalty set-piece goal difference, a big improvement over the last few seasons, showing how important Cueva has been to the club. Before this, the 36-year-old worked for Brentford, where he became known as one of the best set-piece minds in the league. He also worked with Norway’s national team.
Maresca has praised his methods and publicly thanked Cueva for his work during Chelsea’s run to the Club World Cup title earlier in the season. The Blues have consistently scored from corners and free kicks this season and have also been good at defending against dead-ball situations.
Cueva’s work is very different from what Liverpool has been going through at Anfield, where the reigning champions have had trouble with set-piece defense all season.
Liverpool fires Briggs after enduring the worst set-piece record in Europe
Liverpool confirmed on Tuesday that set-piece coach Aaron Briggs was leaving Anfield after the Reds had the worst defensive set-piece record in the top five leagues in Europe. This season, Liverpool have given up the most goals from set pieces (not including penalties) in the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A, or Ligue 1.
Briggs joined Liverpool in July 2024 as a first-team individual development coach. In the summer, he took on the extra job of working on set pieces. According to reports, both sides agreed to end the relationship, and Liverpool’s management decided that action was needed because the set-piece problems were not fixed.
The most recent loss happened on Saturday against Wolves, when Santiago Bueno scored from a corner kick during Liverpool’s 2-1 home win. This was the 12th time Slot’s team had been scored against from a dead-ball situation in league play.