Liverpool’s attack was shown how to do it by a defender on Wednesday as Virgil van Dijk scored the only goal of the game against Sunderland.
The Reds’ captain was a threat all night at the Stadium of Light, eventually glancing home a header which took all three points back to Merseyside.
It was that rarest of beats for Liverpool: a goal directly from a set-piece, continuing a rebuild which began with the sacking of coach Aaron Briggs in December.
Change my mind: Liverpool would be CRAZY to let Konate leave 😣
He is back to his best!
Ibrahima Konate battles with Brian Brobbey during Liverpool's Premier League match against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light (Credit: Getty Images/Stu Forster).
Photo Credit: Getty Images/Stu Forster
Since then, Liverpool have firmed things up defensively from set-pieces, while also showing themselves to be more of a threat at the other end.
But while there has been some improvement, former Reds striker Michael Owen believes Liverpool can get even more out of Van Dijk’s aerial prowess by signing a dead-ball specialist such as Arsenal’s Declan Rice or Bukayo Saka.
Liverpool need a dead-ball specialist
Van Dijk is a genuine handful when it comes to defending Liverpool’s set-pieces, and it is no surprise that his goal on Wednesday means he is now the top scoring Reds defender in Premier League history with 23.
But he should score even more, and as Owen told premierleague.com in the wake of Liverpool’s win over Sunderland, both the Dutchman and Ibrahima Konate would be better off with the presence of a Rice or Saka in the team.
Arsenal and Liverpool players argue during the Premier League match at Emirates Staidum
Photo by Ben STANSALL / AFP via Getty Images
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“They parted with their set-piece coach and brought it more in-house,” the pundit explained. “When you have players like Van Dijk and Konate you have real presence in the box and they should be scoring more from them. They are very capable of scoring much more.
“One of the problems for Liverpool is the delivery. They don’t have a Rice or Saka. That has had an impact on how many goals they score. But for all the criticism they receive, that will taste nice tonight.”
Mohamed Salah was the man whose whipped ball was nodded in by Van Dijk, but although the Egyptian’s delivery is good, he is by no means a specialist. Maybe this is something Liverpool need to look at.
Unpopular opinion: Dominik Szoboszlai’s importance to Liverpool is massively overblown 🫨
The Reds have won 2/2 matches he's missed this season…
Dominik Szoboszlai covers his face after missing a chance during Liverpool's Premier League match against Aston Villa at Anfield (Credit: Getty Images/Liverpool FC).
Photo Credit: Getty Images/Liverpool FC
Do Liverpool already have a set-piece specialist?
It is unquestionable that part of what makes Arsenal such a threat from set-pieces is the delivery of Saka and, even more consistently, Rice.
The pair have honed their craft under Mikel Arteta in a way which now gives them the edge over any team they face. If the delivery is on point, it can be very hard to defend.
Given Liverpool’s disappointing record from corners and free-kicks, at least some of the blame, a large portion of it in fact, should go towards the taker.
The Reds have tried to mix it up plenty of times, with Salah, Cody Gakpo, Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister and Andy Robertson all taking them with some regularity.
Of those, Szoboszlai is perhaps the player you could most compare to Rice in terms of ball-striking, and in fairness to the Hungarian he already has three corner assists this season – two for Van Dijk and one for Konate – as well as a free-kick assist for Mac Allister. Maybe the time has come to get Szoboszlai on the training pitch and put him on the Rice regime.
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