Arne Slot has claimed Liverpool’s negative set-piece balance is holding his team back in the Premier League this season, having seen the importance of set pieces go “through the roof.”
Set-piece balance is the number of set-piece goals scored compared to those conceded, so a positive number is obviously desirable and demonstrates strength in dead-ball situations.
Slot admitted on Friday morning, two days after a Virgil van Dijk header from a corner was enough to secure all three points against Sunderland, that he might need to start thinking differently when it comes to set pieces and the focus he is obliged to give them.
“I cannot stop talking about the importance of set pieces. It’s every single day,” the Duthman said.
“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. In the Champions League, we are top in set pieces and in the Premier League we are completely bottom.”
Liverpool finished third in the final 36-team league phase standings in Europe, yet have conversely struggled to keep pace with the top five in the domestic table.
“The current Premier League is so, so, so much more about set pieces than it was last season,” Slot continued. “Even though I already found it very important, it has now gone through the roof in terms of how important it is.
Virgil van Dijk scores vs. Sunderland
Liverpool have scored three set-piece goals since last conceding one. | Robbie Jay Barratt/AMA/Getty Images
“It’s 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.”
Liverpool have at least improved their set-piece balance, which was -9 at the end of December. Van Dijk’s aforementioned header against Sunderland, his header against Bournemouth and Dominik Szoboszlai’s free kick against Manchester City, without conceding more, have shrunk it to -6.
Premier League Set-Piece Balance—Feb. 13, 2026
Team Set-Piece Goals F/A Balance League Position
Arsenal 15:5 +10 1st
Tottenham 13:7 +6 16th
Man Utd 13:10 +3 4th
Newcastle 13:11 +2 10th
Aston Villa 10:8 +2 3rd
Brighton 7:5 +2 14th
Chelsea 12:11 +1 5th
Leeds 12:11 +1 15th
Everton 7:6 +1 8th
Brentford 5:4 +1 7th
Fulham 8:8 0 12th
Sunderland 7:7 0 11th
Man City 6:7 -1 2nd
Wolves 4:5 -1 20th
Burnley 6:8 -2 19th
Bournemouth 12:16 -4 9th
Crystal Palace 9:13 -4 13th
Nottingham Forest 6:11 -5 17th
Liverpool 6:14 -6 6th
West Ham 7:13 -6 18th
*Stats per Opta
Liverpool still remain joint-bottom of the set-piece balance rankings, alongside West Ham United. Premier League leaders Arsenal are top with a value of +10. But the assertion from Slot that it is impossible to win the title without a substantially positive balance may prove incorrect in the long-term should Manchester City, who have recorded -1 in set-piece balance, topple the Gunners.
While it is not an exact science, there is otherwise some logic to what Slot is saying, with Manchester United, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Everton and Brentford all with positive set-piece balances and all in the top half of the overall Premier League table. There are anomalies—like Liverpool at one end and Tottenham at the other—but negative set-piece balance typically equates to a bottom-half position.
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