New Premier League data exposes Liverpool's glaring weakness as Man Utd leads way

It's been a disappointing season for Liverpool so far, and one of the Reds' biggest problems has been laid out clearly, while Manchester United is faring much better

Arne Slot has had his fair share of problems at Liverpool this season(Image: Getty Images)

Liverpool has had more than its fair share of problems this season, with Arne Slot likely wondering how his side’s luck could have changed so drastically after last season’s title triumph.

Having been crowned Premier League champions in Slot’s first year at the helm, the 2025/26 campaign has not gone according to plan, despite a huge summer shopping spree that saw the record-breaking signings of Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak among a raft of new arrivals.

The Reds have not been helped by a number of injury problems, not least in defense where options are quickly running out at the moment, but it’s their performances in the league that have caused the most concern.

Saturday’s win over Newcastle was just Liverpool’s sixth in the last 19 league games, and its first in six outings. Part of the blame for the Reds’ poor form can be put down to their record when it comes to set-pieces.

As per The Athletic, Liverpool has one of the worst records when it comes to scoring from set-pieces this season. Slot’s side manages to average just 3.4 goals per 100 set-pieces, with only Nottingham Forest (3.3), Wolves (2.5) and Brentford (1.9) showing worse figures.

Liverpool has one of the worst set-piece records in the Premier League(Image: Getty Images)

At the other end of the scale, Liverpool’s rivals for the top four are faring much better. Manchester United sits top of the pile with eight goals per 100 set-pieces, with Chelsea third on the list at 6.7 goals, while champions-elect Arsenal (7.3) is sandwiched inbetween.

It might not come as a surprise then that Slot has bemoaned his side’s record with set-pieces - both attacking and defending them - and that the club took such drastic action to try and rectify the problem.

Aaron Briggs was dismissed as the club’s set-piece coach back in December, with set-piece analyst Lewis Mahoney having been promoted to Slot’s bench just over a week ago, with his step up drawing almost immediate results after Dominik Szoboszlai scored from a free-kick against Marseille in the Champions League.

Speaking about his side’s set-piece record earlier this season, Slot said: "I know the importance of it, it gets more and more, and that's why we are so annoyed by our current record.

“It's a big frustration we are where we are this season because when we were halfway through last season [when they won the league] we had not conceded one set-piece [goal].

“Unfortunately, we’re maybe the only team that hardly ever scores from a set-piece, and even worse, we constantly concede.”