Arne Slot has blamed Liverpool's poor record at set pieces for the club's difficult title defence.
Liverpool are sixth in the Premier League table and 15 points adrift of leaders Arsenal. The Reds have endured a challenging campaign this time around, having won a record-equalling 20th league title last season.
Speaking ahead of tomorrow's FA Cup fourth-round tie with Brighton, Slot said the club's poor set-piece record has contributed to their struggles.
Only Bournemouth (16) have conceded more set-piece goals than Liverpool in the Premier League this season (14), while the champions rank only 10th for goals scored from set-piece situations. Leaders Arsenal, in contrast, have scored the most set-piece goals (16) in the division.
"My first thought in my head was no because I have always said it is almost impossible to win a game of football with a negative set-piece balance.
"In the Premier League, every game is now a big game because of the strength of the league, but looking at where the league has gone to I should maybe not say no, I should say yes because I cannot stop talking about the importance of set pieces. It's every single day.
"You asked me in the past what the difference is between our performances in the Champions League and Premier League and the most simple answer is set pieces because in the Champions League we are top in set pieces and in the Premier League we are completely bottom. That reflects in the league table as well.
"The current Premier League is so, so, so much more about set pieces than it was last season. Even though I already found it very important, it has now gone through the roof in terms of how important it is.
"It is actually impossible to win the league if you have a set-piece balance like ours. You have to have plus five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, no matter what you do in open play, to have a chance to win the league."