At home, Liverpool scored the first three goals against West Ham United from corner kicks. Hugo Ekitike, Virgil van Dijk and Alexis Mac Allister scored in turn, showing a clear improvement of the "Reds" in dead balls.
Speaking after the match, Slot admitted that his team had gone through an ineffective period: "In the early stages of the season, we created quite a few chances from set pieces, but often let opponents score from there. Now it's the opposite," he said.
The Dutch coach emphasized that the change lies in both organizational and psychological factors. "Everything has returned to normal, mainly because we created quite a few chances in the first half of the season but continuously failed to take advantage of them. We have been very close to scoring many times," Slot shared.
Liverpool coach sent a message to Mikel Arteta's Arsenal, the team that has created a trend of scoring goals from extremely effective free kicks this season: "There was a time when Arsenal scored 23 goals from set pieces, including penalties. And currently we are not only three goals away from them but also narrowing the gap a bit," Slot said.
Before the confrontation between Arsenal and Chelsea at the Emirates, Slot believes that the Gunners' fixed weapon will continue to work: "You never know what could happen this weekend with Arsenal. But I wouldn't be surprised if they could score a few goals from set pieces into Chelsea's net.
Coach Arne Slot's statement shows that dead balls continue to be a strategic weapon in the championship race. For Arsenal, that has become the identity. As for Liverpool, the timely return in set pieces can create a turning point in the decisive stage of the season.
