‘Words fail you’ – John Aldridge was appalled by one thing he saw from Liverpool on Saturday
John Aldridge was left seething at one thing he witnessed from Liverpool in their 2-1 victory against Wolves on Saturday.
Two goals in 90 seconds from Ryan Gravenberch and Florian Wirtz shortly before half-time seemed to have the Reds in a comfortable position against the bottom side in the Premier League, but Santiago Gomez’s 50th-minute strike ensured that the second half would be rather nervy at Anfield.
Ibrahima Konate sensed the unease inside the stadium in the closing minutes and tried to rally the crowd, but Arne Slot will have been fuming at how easily his team gifted the visitors a way back into the game after failing to clear from a corner kick.
Aldridge laments Liverpool’s set-piece woes
In his column for the Liverpool Echo on Monday, Aldridge lamented the concession of yet another set-piece goal and expressed his fears that repeat offences would cost Liverpool points against stronger opposition.
The former Reds striker wrote: ‘The game was there for the taking. We could have won by three or four but instead we were a bag of nerves after they got one back. They get a corner and come on! Every corner is a nightmare. Whoever is on set-pieces, they need to look in the mirror.
‘You need to organise and get in the players’ heads. It’s now every corner. Alisson saves it, does well, but all the players are on the wrong side and none of them are alert to the danger. Words fail you.
‘We let them back in the game. We’re jittery. They should have equalised. Liverpool can be happy with the result but better teams would capitalise on us.’
Liverpool’s set-piece problems laid bare by frightening statistics
Like it or not, set pieces have become a major goalscoring weapon in the Premier League nowadays, and Liverpool’s record in terms of scoring and conceding from them is nothing short of appalling.
The Reds have netted just four times from dead-ball situations in the current top-flight campaign, the second-lowest in the division (GIVEMESPORT), while their tally of 12 conceded is the joint-highest alongside Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest (BBC Sport).
Even more worryingly ahead of our next match, New Years’ Day opponents Leeds have scored more set-piece goals than anyone else in the 2025/26 Premier League (14), one of which was Ao Tanaka’s stoppage-time equaliser in the reverse fixture just three weeks ago.
Aldridge is entirely justified in his worries over Liverpool’s weaknesses from corners and free kicks, especially when they’ll be facing a striker in flying form in Dominic Calvert-Lewin on Thursday, with the ex-Everton man surely relishing his return to Merseyside later in the week.
The Reds got away with conceding from set pieces in their recent wins over Tottenham Hotspur and Wolves, but the aforementioned statistics – and indeed the 3-3 draw at Elland Road – indicate that they mightn’t be so lucky against Leeds unless they improve drastically in that regard.
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